The Chance for Peace: A New World
by CrypticSilhouette
Summary: After much deliberation, Naruto and Kurama reach the conclusion that the presence of the Bijuu in the Elemental Nations will always bring about conflict, and hatch a plan to remove them from the equation. Through the heavy application of Natural Chakra, Seals, and a certain Space-Time technique, Naruto brings the Bijuu to an entirely new world! Time Travel-ish, Full summary inside
1. Chapter One Prologue

Kurama and Naruto, thrown back in time from a war-ravaged future by a technique they believe to have originated from the Sage of Six Paths, are both trapped within an infant Naruto's body. After much deliberation, the two reach the conclusion that the presence of the Bijuu in their ninja-world will always bring about conflict, and hatch a plan to remove them from the equation. Through the heavy application of Natural Chakra, Seals, and a certain Space-Time technique, Naruto brings the Bijuu to an entirely new world, where endless adventure awaits.

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Kurama awoke to a very curious sensation.

It felt like he was being pushed through a tube, like his entire being was being condensed into a tiny cylinder. It was unbearable.

But in only lasted for a few seconds. He righted himself, and soon noticed that much was out of place. He could feel the dirt under his paws, and it felt _real. _He felt full, complete in a way that he hadn't felt since he was ripped in half by that accursed ninja, the Yondaime Hokage. A low grumble, and he pushed himself upright.

He blinked, looked around, and realized that he was in Konoha. However, for some unfathomable reason, he was not sealed away. Having been asleep not fifteen seconds ago, he was understandably confused with his current situation.

"_**Naruto**_?" he closed his eyes and projected his thoughts inward, as he always did when he wished to speak with his host. He received no response. "_**Brat**_?" he tried again. Again, there was nothing. He reached out, but found that he couldn't sense the boy he knew at all.

He opened his eyes again, wishing to investigate why he was towering above the hidden village that he and Naruto had protected from destruction so many times in the past. A nightmare, one of his own, greeted him.

Hundreds of Leaf Ninja surrounded him. The streets were littered with the corpses of civilians and ninja alike, and large sections of the village were completely flattened and destroyed. The fear permeating the air would be noticeable to a simple civilian, and he was anything but. It was intoxicating, yet suffocating. Once upon a time he would have reveled in it. But he'd changed, he'd spent years trapped in a happy-go-lucky host that had been determined to make him understand anything other than hate, and had succeeded. The feeling around him, the putrid, vile feeling of human hate, anger, and most of all, fear, was nearly enough to make him, the almighty Nine-Tailed-Fox, sick.

He quickly turned his attention away from the contingent of ninjas surrounding him as he felt an all too familiar presence far outside of the village. A vile presence_. _

In a single unexpected leap, he traveled across the entire village, leaving behind hundreds of injured civilians and ninja, and the only other one that had managed to stand against him that night, the Third Hokage. His second jump took him a great distance outside of the village. Satisfaction flowed though him as he landed in the middle of the battle that he'd sensed, forcing the two men apart and to different edges of the clearing.

"Nine-Tails…" the blond man said nervously. Though he had just severed the mystery ninja's control of the Bijuu, it was still the strongest of the beasts, capable of causing tsunamis and destroying mountains with just a sweep of one of its tails when enraged. He narrowed his eyes, raised his signature kunai, and fell into a combat-ready position.

His opponent wore a different expression, one of unadulterated glee. Not that his expression was visible, hidden as it was behind an orange, spiraled mask that covered all but his right eye. "Nine-Tails!" he exclaimed, re-energized now that his puppet was available help him defeat the seemingly indomitable young Hokage.

The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, spoke up. "With that seal, the Bijuu no longer belongs to you!"

In their last split-second bout, Minato managed to place a contract seal on the masked man. He would have done more, but the Nine-Tails had appeared and broken up their clash.

"I must hand it to you, Lord Fourth. You wounded me and even managed to sever my control over the Nine-Tails," the masked man paused for a moment to collect himself. While he felt confident in his abilities, the contract seal and subsequent loss of the most powerful Bijuu was a terrible surprise, and the Fourth Hokage's Flying Thunder God Technique was not something that he could fight in his present state. The Rasengan that the the Hokage had drilled into his shoulder had completely destroyed his entire artificial left arm, and he'd been marked by his opponent's signature attack. He knew when to retreat. "However, I am going to take over the world. The Nine-Tails _will_ become my plaything again."

Kurama looked down at the exchange happening before him. He'd remembered being momentarily freed from the Uchiha's control all those years ago, but had forgotten in the wake of being sealed away again. This explained what had happened; Naruto's father had severed the Obito's control over him during their fight. That knowledge made his next decision much more satisfying.

Kurama had been back in Konoha for barely a minute, but he had already blown through every possible scenario in his mind. Was he in a dream? Possible, if it weren't for the sheer level of detail, the complete accuracy of everything and everyone around him. Could it be a Genjutsu, another Uchiha technique that he had yet to deal with? Again, he considered it, and tried everything he could to break the hold that the theoretical Genjutsu had on him. However, not only did the supposed Genjutsu not break, but through it all, he could not sense or see a single thing out of place that would point to it being an illusory technique. The last possibility, and by far the most confusing, was some sort of temporal displacement. Time travel.

His creator and father, Hagoromo Otsutsuki, had once spoken of time travel as though it were possible, but neither he nor any of the other Bijuu were very interested in such things at the time. Other than that, Kurama had no experience in the subject, never mind knowing why or how he'd been propelled eighteen years into the past. Despite his lack of evidence, it was the only answer that fit, that he could do something with. If it was a Genjutsu that he couldn't break, then not much could be done about it. He'd wake up from a dream eventually. Time travel, though, was a different story. He could work with that.

The Uchiha was likely to get away, his space-time technique basically guaranteed it, but that didn't mean that Kurama would allow him to leave in the dignified and sure way he was no doubt planning to. He would at least remind him why the Bijuu, and the Nine-Tailed-Fox in particular, were so feared.

"**No,**" the odd trio was well outside the village, he had plenty of room. "**I don't think that I will,**" he said in answer to the Uchiha's earlier statement.

He began concentrating the Black and White chakra to his maw, excited about what he was going to do. Unlike the Bijudama that he'd originally tried to use while under the control of the Sharingan, the one that he was preparing had his full attention, and with it, his full might. It was going to be spectacular.

Shocked at being addressed by what he thought was a mindless beast of destruction, the masked man wasn't prepared for what happened next. Minato Namikaze, famous for his calm, calculating demeanor and deadly techniques, appeared directly behind him, Rasengan already in hand. The technique was quickly drilled into his back, smashing him into the ground. As he lay there, his body frozen in pain, he began to feel the tremendous amount of power building up from the direction of the Nine-Tails.

By this time, the Bijudama was nearly complete. It was fully contained and in its eight-two ratio. Kurama made eye contact with the Fourth Hokage, as much as he was able to with eyes each as tall as the man himself, and tried to urge him to vacate the area. Thankfully it seemed to work, as not a second later the man was gone.

Kurama leapt up into the air and backwards, and unleashed his attack. Right before the moment of impact he felt the Uchiha's presence disappear, which was frustrating, but not at all unexpected. The man could teleport at will.

The explosion was blinding. For a moment, he was worried that he had miscalculated. He hadn't been whole in years; it was possible that he pushed too much into the attack. As he looked back, though, he saw that it hadn't quite reached the border of the village. If there happened to be an unfortunate individual or two in the forest or training grounds, then they were most assuredly dead. The light from his technique died down, the wind generated by it calming, and he dispassionately viewed the mile-or-so of destruction he'd caused. None of the vegetation within its borders managed to survive, all either incinerated or, further outwards, uprooted and violently tossed away by the force. He laid down on his stomach, and rested his head on his hands. He had a long conversation ahead of him.

The familiar chakra of the Fourth Hokage reappeared a good deal behind him, growing closer rapidly. The man entered his field of vision and stopped, looking up into his massive eyes. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Minato Namikaze opened his mouth.

"Kushina is dead," and damn if that wasn't the weakest he'd ever heard the man.

Kurama was confused, though. How was she dead if he hadn't been there to kill her? She should have lived, this time around. It hurt him to know that, not even five minutes in, he was already failing. He hated Kushina for the way that she viewed and treated him, but his love for Naruto was greater than that petty hatred.

"**How**?" he rumbled, "**She should have been fine, even after I was extracted**."

And it was true; Kushina's genes made her the perfect prison for him. They gave her superhuman durability. She should have been, if exhausted and depleted of chakra, perfectly healthy.

"It seems that he masked man wanted to gain something from the night," he said tiredly, broken, "Kushina was able to protect herself and Naruto long enough for the Third and I to arrive, but the strain killed her."

"**I… am sorry**." Kurama reluctantly admitted, much to the Fourth's surprise. It was evident on the man's face, and Kurama hurriedly continued. "**Know that I do not intend to harm you or your village. Is Naruto safe?"**

Minato nodded, though he shifted suspiciously at the mention of his son. "If I believed that you were intent on destroying us, I would have never approached you so peacefully. What do you want with my son?"

"**I believe that too much has been said already. Take the time that you need to create my next seal, I will wait. It wouldn't do for you to die at the hands of the Shinigami**."

Minato's eyes widened. "How could you possibly know about that?" he demanded.

"**I just told you that too much has been said. The longer that I am free, the more danger that both I and your village are in. The Uchiha recovers quickly**."

Minato nodded in understanding and disappeared.

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Hours later, he reappeared, looking, somehow, more haggard than before.

Kurama looked at him questioningly. The man was a known genius, but mere hours was a little too fast, even for him. "**Already? How**?"

"Shadow clones. Headache," he coughed into his hand in embarrassment, "Anyway, I've come up with three possible options."

Kurama's enormous eyes bulged in shock. _Three?_ That quickly? He really didn't want to imagine what their battle would have looked like if the man had been prepared.

"**Go on**," he said, more calmly than he felt.

"Yes, well. My instinctive reaction was that I was going to be forced to use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, and forfeit my own life. That is still an option."

It seemed that the options were not entirely new as he'd initially believed. Kurama shook his head in the negative. "**It is not. Naruto should have his father**."

The Fourth Hokage looked up at the chakra beast strangely. "You are very focused on my son, aren't you?"

"**If you would hurry up, you could learn why, you crazy man**." Kurama deflected.

"Fine, fine. The next possibility is Kushina's seal."

"**NO**!" Kurama barked, his voice shaking the ground. Minato jumped backwards and landed in a defensive position. "**Not that seal. It… is not pleasant. And**," Kurama reasoned, "**Naruto wouldn't be capable of using my chakra**."

Minato shook his head. It seemed that the Nine-Tails knew everything he was thinking.

"The final is what I believe to be the most ideal, but the possibility it being used hinged on our conversation. I believe that you can be trusted**."** Kurama didn't react to the comment other than to snort softly. The generated gust of wind still nearly bowled the unprepared Hokage over.

"I've spent the last few months studying Kushina's seal in preparation for this night. Though the possibility was small, and I hoped that it wouldn't happen, I knew that there was a chance that she would die in childbirth and you would be freed," he paused, choked up at the talk of his now-dead wife.

"She put a stop to it as soon as she found out, but I used the time that I was away to complete it. It is a variation of her seal that can encompass all of your chakra. The only problem is that in a newborn, Uzumaki or no, if you were to rebel, the child would die."

Kurama drew back. "**Then it is not acceptable**," he said, his tone final.

Minato smiled, forlorn, at the strongest Bijuu. "And that proves to me that it will work. Provided you assist in holding back your own Chakra, Naruto will be safe until his body is strong enough to handle it."

Kurama considered it. "**How secure is the seal? Would I have to worry about that Uchiha appearing again to remove me**?"

"I believe it to be comparable to that of the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, and I am also a Seal Master. I can add more protections if necessary," the Hokage offered, glad that they seemed to have settled on their next course of action.

Kurama nodded and began containing himself, drawing his chakra inward. He shrunk to nearly half is original size before Minato Namikaze's very eyes, who was staring at his transformation in wonder. "**Then that is what we will do**." He growled, his annoyance at having to be sealed finally making its way into his voice.

Minato began preparing the technique on the ground, a puff of smoke appearing and dissapating, revealing a small altar. A clone appeared next to the man and disappeared via his signature technique, presumably to retrieve his son.

"You know, everyone believes you Bijuu to be mindless beasts. How is it that we know no different?"

Kurama was still and silent for a moment, choosing his words carefully. "**My siblings and I were children of the Sage of Six Paths himself**," he started, and Minato stared at him in shock. "**We were meant to be gifts to the world, to live in tune with the natural chakra that is in all things**."

He continued, "**But for the last century, your people, **_**Ninja**_," he spat, "**have bound us, caged us, used us as weapons. It is little wonder that none of us wish to converse with you**."

"**It was **_**that man**_**, Uchiha Madara. If he never approached me, the progenitor of your village would never have been given a reason to bind us, and we would be free**." Despite having eighteen years to change his opinion on humans, there were still a select few that were permanent targets of his rage. "**But you will find out more once I am sealed. Hurry up**."

Minato nodded, continuing his work on the altar between them. His clone reappeared next to him with an infant Naruto in his arms, adorable whiskers on his baby cheeks. Minato reached out to tickle his son's nose, memorizing every part of his face.

Kurama zeroed in on him. _Naruto_. He prayed that they'd been thrown back in time together, and that he wouldn't be left alone in the past. If he was truly in there, being sealed would be worth it. If he wasn't... Kurama wouldn't betray Naruto's memory. He would never allow what had occurred in their future to repeat itself.

"This is my son, Nine-Tails. All that is left of my wife. I believe that you do not want to harm him, but I have been told that I am naïve many times before. I will be monitoring the seal for even the slightest hint that something is wrong, and there are a number of fail safes that will allow me to combat you and your influence on Naruto, even from outside of the seal." Minato said, his tone firm and even.

"**That is acceptable. No harm will come to Naruto**," he said resolutely. He meant every word. Kurama grinned, his sharp, white teeth gleaming in the pale moonlight, "**Believe it**."

Minato activated the seal and Kurama could feel his chakra being drawn into the seal on the tiny Naruto's belly. He felt the boy's chakra, and a sense of familiarity washed over him. He relaxed at the familiar, soothing power of his friend.

"**Attend to your village, Fourth. And do not tell the villagers of my presence. I'd rather Naruto not be subject to the backlash.**"

Seconds later, Minato was on the ground, panting, his chakra depleted. The commotion had woken Naruto, though, and Minato rose to comfort the child. He lifted him to his chest and brushed his hair lovingly. His wife may be gone, but his son was still here. And he had a village to take care of. He raised his free arm to rub the tears from his eyes, and in the next moment, he disappeared from the clearing.

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"Took you long enough, asshole."

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Make sure to let me know what you think once you've read all that I've posted :)


	2. Chapter Two Prologue

This chapter is... 90% fluff, but it's necessary, in my mind, to introduce the idea that the two are planning to 'leave' without me actually having write them putting their plan into action. That would be at least twenty chapters more for a story that doesn't necessarily matter, overall. I don't wanna do that. Next chapter will be a 13-year-ish time skip, and we'll see Naruto and the Bijuu ditching the Elemental Nations.

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When Naruto woke up, all he could see was white. He sat up and immediately flared his chakra to break the Genjutsu he was under and when that didn't work, he was stumped.

So, he called out for his partner, Kurama, the nine-tailed Bijuu.

"Oi, Fox! You there?" he shouted, expecting the grumpy response to come rumbling into his mind.

But it didn't.

And so, Naruto focused inward like he'd done countless times to visit his friend. Except… that didn't work, either. That was worrying, for a variety of reasons.

Suddenly, despite the entire landscape being white and Naruto being unable to perceive anything around him, he began to feel various chakra signatures around him. He was not a natural sensor, but as the war went on, he'd become adept at a number of skills that didn't come naturally to him.

So, with nothing else to do, he sat in meditation, feeling the different signatures around him. The main ones that he was focusing on had him worried. One was obviously his friend, Kurama, and the other seemed to be Obito – which couldn't be right, he'd killed Obito years ago. The other two, though, were also familiar, but Naruto didn't know why, he couldn't place them. There were many weaker signatures all around, but he couldn't even begin to recognize those in the face of the more powerful four.

He tried to flare his chakra to alert Kurama of his presence, but he could tell that it didn't penetrate the white nothingness surrounding him.

And so he resigned himself to waiting, trying to figure out how he'd been caught in this situation.

The last thing he remembered was… going to sleep. There was nothing after that, no epic battle with an enemy that could have caught him, nothing to hint at why he'd been brought here. He'd been sleeping soundly in one of Sasuke's many undetectable hideouts, reinforced by his own seals. There was no way that they'd been found.

Hours went by it seemed, and he, from his cross-legged position on the floor, felt Kurama's chakra flare up brighter than before. He wondered what his friend was doing, and hated that he couldn't be at his side.

He briefly wondered if he was dead, and this was what the afterlife was. That would be weird.

Finally, after hours, he detected a change in the environment around him. A cage began to materialize near him, far larger than the open one that was within his own mind, and the white of the landscape began to turn green, grass sprouting from the ground. He could sense Kurama's chakra pooling inside of it, which was worrying, but still, he ran over to it in excitement.

Only when the red chakra finally coalesced into a discernable form did Naruto relax. Though he'd been remarkably composed, the area of nothing he'd been in was particularly terrifying. It was good to have his friend back, no matter where they were.

"Took you long enough, asshole." He said plainly from his place outside of the cage.

"**Naruto**!" the Bijuu exclaimed. "**You're here**!"

He seemed surprisingly relieved. It wasn't like him to be so emotional.

"Yeah I'm here, wherever the hell 'here' is." Naruto grumbled, gesturing around him at the grass field they were now standing in. "Why are you so big? And what the hell are you doing in that cage? Here, I'll get you out of there."

Naruto moved forward to break the seal on the cage's bars, but was stopped by Kurama shaking his head.

"**You can't**." He said simply.

"To hell with that, yes I can! I'm not letting you stay trapped if I can help it, you're my friend! I may not know where we are," he started, but Kurama cut him off.

"**We're in your seal,**" he informed him.

"Bullshit, if we were in me, then I would know." Naruto exclaimed.

"**Let me rephrase. We're in your mindscape, eighteen years in the past. The day you were born**."

That explained why everything had been blank.

"Whaaaat?" Naruto was reasonably confused. He'd been sitting in white for hours with no clue what was going on, and now he was being told that he was back in time.

"**I know how it sounds. But I just had a long talk with your father-**," he was cut off.

"That's who I could feel!" Naruto shouted.

"**Don't interrupt me, brat**," he berated the boy, "**I just spoke with your father and allowed him to seal me again. He is still alive this time around**."

"Dad's alive? What about mom? Are you telling me that we're actually in the past? Are you sure you're not under a Genjutsu, idiot fox?" Naruto still hadn't wrapped his head around the situation.

"**Yes, you fool! We're in the past, I already told you,"** he said. "**And… Naruto, I'm sorry. I wasn't able to save your mother. Obito killed her**."

"Oh…" Naruto's voice was quieter this time, more composed. "It's okay, Kurama. You saved my Dad, and that's more than I could ask for." He was silent for a few seconds, contemplating the situation. He'd always wanted to meet his mom.

"So, how do you think we ended up here?" he asked his friend.

"**Truthfully, I have no idea. Father once told my siblings and I of a technique like this, but he was the only one that would have been able to perform it."**

"Maybe he hid it in you like Itachi hid that disgusting bird in me?" Naruto offered.

"**It is possible. But, I'm not terribly concerned with the 'how' of the past. I'm more concerned with what we'll be able to do about the future**."

Naruto's eyes widened in excitement. "That's right!" he exclaimed. "But… I'm all alone… Sasuke and Shikamaru, I just left them." His expression shifted from excited to depressed, his blue eyes shifting from Kurama's to the floor.

"**Shut up, brat. You're not alone**." Kurama said contemptuously.

"You're right! I'll save 'em! It won't be just us anymore, Kurama, I'll save the whole village from that bitch! Believe it!" he coughed into his hand, a blush dusting his cheeks. His tic didn't pop up too often anymore, but it was noticeable when it did.

"**Oh yeah, idiot? How do you plan on doing that from in here**?" alluding to Naruto's current situation, trapped inside what he believed to be his own mind.

"What do you mean? You said that we're in me, so I just have to wake up, don't I?" he asked curiously.

"**There may be an… issue**." Kurama started.

"Issue?" Naruto demanded.

Kurama tried to figure out a way to tell him. No matter how he phrased it, Naruto was going to be pissed.

"Oi, Kurama-bastard, what issue?" louder this time.

"**I'm getting to it, brat**." He sighed, Naruto wasn't going to be happy. "**It seems that you and this Naruto are different.**"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"**It means that you are not in control of this body. You are not this time's Naruto. You're completely different**."

"Bullshit!" Naruto exclaimed angrily. "That's completely unfair, what am I supposed to do? Why do you get your body then, huh?"

"**If you'd think for a second, you'd see that it is completely fair. I am chakra. You, were flesh and bones**," Kurama explained, "**I think that the technique tore our chakra from the timeline and flung us into our respective places in the past. Congratulations, Naruto. You're no longer the meat sack you once were**."

Naruto's jaw dropped. He… he wasn't human anymore? He was made out of chakra? How was that supposed to work? He poked himself in the arm, but it didn't feel any different.

Kurama saw what he was trying to do and smiled at him evilly. "**Here, brat. Allow me**." And his paw came speeding forward, one of his claws tearing into the boy's stomach.

Naruto freaked out, doubling over the claw. "Oh God! Oh shit! Oh…" he trailed off, "This doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would." He peered down as Kurama removed the claw from his stomach, and saw a wide hole remaining. It was quickly being filled in by his rippling blue chakra.

"That's messed up," he breathed in astonishment.

"**What was that bastard fish's name? The 'Tailless Bijuu**?" Kurama wondered. "**I think that name's yours now, kid**."

"Hmph. Sure, make fun of me when my humanity's been stripped away. Great fun, asshole."

"**It's quite fun, for me. Endlessly amusing**." Kurama mocked. "**Poor Naruto. Strongest of the ninja, but weakest of the Bijuu!**" Naruto stomped in indignation.

"Hey! Watch what you say, asshole, I'll take you on any day!" Naruto declared.

And it was true. While he didn't have the raw power that was afforded to Kurama, he more than made up for it with his proficiency in a variety of ninja arts, Fuinjutu being chief amongst them. He'd long created his own altered Adamantine Sealing Chains and mastered their usage, and was able to use them with deadly efficiency. Using just those he was theoretically capable of subduing the first seven Bijuu, though he'd had to work harder for Gyuki and, from experience, harder still to battle Kurama. His Ninjutsu weren't half bad, either, and his Taijutsu was only below three others in his time, that he knew of.

"I guess one good thing came out of this." Naruto said slyly, his hand stroking his chin in mock-thought.

"**Oh? What could that be**?" Kurama asked, wondering what comeback the blond could possibly have.

"Well, the Bijuu are siblings, yeah?"

Kurama nodded, not sure where Naruto was going with this.

"Then… Wouldn't that make us brothers? Neh, big brother Kurama?"

Naruto couldn't hold in his laughter at Kurama's stunned yet furious expression, and collapsed to the floor in a fit of giggles.

"**Brat, that is disturbing on so many levels. Don't ever say it again**." Kurama shuddered.

"Whatever you say, big bro!" he cackled madly, dodging one of Kurama's claws that shot between the bars of the cage.

The two bickered back and forth lightheartedly for a few more minutes, and began to discuss what they could do with their new future.

"**Your father is actually going to be visiting within the next few days, kit.**" Kurama said. "**I bet you and he could work out a way for you leave the seal.**" Kurama was not looking forward to being alone again, but he knew that Naruto wouldn't want to be cooped up if he didn't have to.

"Screw that!" Kurama blinked in surprise. "I'm not leaving you alone, idiot. You brood so much worse than Sasuke, anyway. I can't let you start that again."

"**Take that back**!" Kurama roared, masking his relief.

"Nope, I won't. It's true, anyway, you stupid fox." Naruto teased.

The fox huffed.

"I'm serious, Kurama. We're friends, and I made you a promise. I can't keep that promise yet, so the least I could do is stay with you until you're free."

If he weren't covered in fur his blush would be obvious. "**Shut up, idiot**," he muttered.

"Oh yeah? Make me then, dumbass." Naruto stuck his tongue out at Kurama and danced around in a circle, just out of reach of Kurama's claws.

Kurama stopped suddenly, looking sadly at the bars of the cage, remembering again exactly what that entailed. "**I'm tired, brat. I just got sealed. Let me rest**." He crossed his arms and lay down on the ground. At least it was no longer a sewer…

"I get it, Kurama. We'll figure it out." Kurama closed his eyes.

A few seconds later, he felt something land on him. His eyes opened again and he looked up, his eyes crossing as he tried to focus on what he was feeling. It was Naruto, sitting on top of his head.

"**What the hell do you think you're doing**?" he growled menacingly.

"Well, you're stuck here," _obviously_, "and usually you just throw me out when you want to sleep, but now I'm stuck here too." Naruto smiled at him. "So I figured we'd just have to be stuck together, okay?"

"… **That was disgustingly sappy**."

"Hey! Don't be mean when I'm being such a great friend! Asshole!" he laughed, used to Kurama's emotional deflections.

"… **Thanks, Naruto**."

* * *

That was the scene that Minato was greeted with when he finally entered the seal. A massive sleeping Bijuu with an equally unconscious blonde teenager lying spreadeagle on the beast's head. He loudly cleared his throat in an attempt to gain its attention.

Kurama's eyes cracked open, and he glared fuzzily at the blond-haired man far in front of him.

"**Go away, Naruto**," he groused before closing his eyes again.

"I… am not Naruto." Minato said, bemused.

Kurama's eyes shot open, and he sat up straight. The boy on his head was launched backwards, flying into the prison's bars behind him. He landed on the ground with a 'thump'.

"Owww," Naruto whined, rubbing his backside. "That was mean, big brother!"

"**BRAT! What did I say!**?" Kurama roared, scaring the Hokage into taking a step back. He smacked his tail down on top of Naruto, pinning him to the ground. Naruto could have gotten out with little issue, but he enjoyed playing around with Kurama.

"Gah! Fine, I give! I won't say it again!" Naruto cried in surrender. The tail lifted off of him and he sat up, dramatically gasping for air.

Minato couldn't make heads or tails of what was occurring in front of him. He was sure that he'd only sealed the Kyuubi into his son, but there was another person there besides him. The boy stood up from his spot and leapt back onto the Kyuubi's head, much to its consternation, it seemed.

"Would it be too much to ask for an explanation, then?" Minato asked hesitantly, drawing the duo's attention back to him.

Kurama's expression sobered immediately. Naruto jumped down from Kurama's head, through the cage's bars, and landed in front of Minato. The action had the man shifting warily. There shouldn't be anything coming in or going out of the seal, so the ease at which the boy in front of him had done it was alarming.

"**Stop using me as a playground, dumbass.**" the fox growled.

The mysteriously familiar blond boy stuck out his hand in greeting, and waited for Minato to take it. . The Bijuu was silent, watching their interaction carefully.

"Hey, Dad," Naruto said, "It's me, Naruto."

Naruto had only ever spoken to his 'father' once when he was fifteen and he lost control of Kurama's chakra. The man's Shadow Clone appeared within the seal to lock it down, and they'd only had a few minutes to speak. His father was summoned from death in the first phase of the war, but none of the puppets were able to access their original personalities.

Minato took in his identity with only a little bit of visible surprise, and clasped his hand firmly. "Hey, Naruto," he said, his voice thick with emotion. He'd seen the boy's whisker marks and jumped to that conclusion, but it didn't make enough sense for him to believe it until Naruto said the words himself. "Am I to assume this is part of the secret, Kyuubi?"

Kurama grunted in affirmation. "**I'll let Naruto explain. I don't want to talk to you**," he said grumpily, his booming voice somehow managing to sound petulant.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Ignore him, you interrupted his beauty sleep," he said.

"**I heard that**!" Kurama shouted from behind.

"I thought you didn't want to be a part of this conversation, you bum!" Naruto turned and yelled back, pointing at the Bijuu accusingly.

"Naruto," Minato called out, desperately wanting to know how his son could be a grown man. He had suspicions, but nothing feasible. "How are you… like this?"

"Old?" Naruto turned back and laughed, rubbing the back of his head. It was a permanent tell that he was nervous.

His father glared at him "Watch it, kid," he said playfully, "You're younger than me, and I'm definitely not old yet," he grew serious again. "But yes, that's what I meant. This shouldn't be possible."

"It really shouldn't be, should it? Kur – Kyuubi and I," he almost slipped up and told his dad Kurama's name. It was something personal that the fox didn't share with anyone outside of those he considered family, so it wasn't Naruto's secret to tell. "We couldn't come up with anything between us. The best guess we have is that the Sage of Six Paths was involved somehow, and the technique activated because of the state of things in our time."

"That… is not an enlightening answer." Minato said bluntly.

Naruto blushed. "It's the best we've got, y'know!" he exclaimed. "Really though, we've got nothing. I was asleep, and suddenly I was here. I don't remember anything else."

The elder-blond shook his head. "I suppose it's not all that important. What a disappointment, though. The technique must have been magnificent!" Naruto stared. His eyes were shining. It somehow reminded Naruto of Lee. "But enough of that. There must be a reason that you were sent back, yes?" he asked.

Well, it's sorta a long story…" he trailed off.

Naruto looked at Kurama. The Kyuubi nodded back at him. They were so in tune that they rarely needed to speak to communicate, especially in battle. Kurama knew, though, that it was a comfort to Naruto, who hadn't really had someone that would talk back to him for the first twelve years of his life.

"It all began eighteen years ago, when a masked man attacked Konoha…"

* * *

Naruto told Minato everything that he could, sparing no detail. Kurama would fill in when he came across something he couldn't remember. They knew that Minato was dangerous, powerful, and most of all, a genius. If anyone would benefit from the information, it was he. He was the leader of arguably the most powerful ninja village, especially because it hadn't been decimated by Kurama this time around, so preemptively combating the various foes that Naruto had faced in his lifetime would be well within the man's abilities.

Minato left the seal, his mind racing. It was a lot to take in. He would have to consult his mentor, Jiraiya of the Sannin, and the Lord Third Hokage. Perhaps they would be able to help him plan.

* * *

"**Naruto**?" Kurama asked, hours after the Hokage had left.

"What's up, Fox? I was asleep." Naruto was startled awake by his friend's voice. He climbed to his feet.

"**I have a thought**," he started, and was immediately interrupted.

"Really?" Naruto gushed, mockingly squishing his cheeks together. "I'm sho proud of you!"

Kurama ignored him. "**I'm serious, brat."** Naruto let go of himself, listening once again. "**I believe that your father can end the threat. We had to deal with everything, but he's fighting it before it starts**."

Naruto nodded. "Me too, Kurama," he said solemnly.

"**But what about afterwards**?"

"What do you mean, afterwards?" Naruto asked, though he, too, wondered what they would do after the threat was dealt with.

"**Look at things from my – our perspective, the Bijuu. We want to be free, but we're kept as slaves to the Ninja Villages.**" Naruto cringed. He didn't like it, but it was something he'd been resigned to. "**Wherever we are, there will be fighting. Our presence causes war, or at least, tension. We've never been able to escape that, except with our father**."

"Well…" Naruto responded after a minute of thought, "If nothing else works, what if we just leave?"

"**We**?" Kurama asked. "**And, brat, say something more specific than 'leave**'."

Naruto thought for a moment, plopping himself down on Kurama's head once more. "Well, there's gotta be something else out there, right? I mean, there's a lot that we haven't seen. What's to say there's not a place for us, somewhere?"

"**If you say so,**" He sighed, not entirely convinced.

Naruto could sense that he wasn't entirely satisfied. "Don't worry, Kurama. We'll figure it out, together, no matter how long it takes," he said, "I promised, didn't I? And you know that I never go back on my word."

No matter what, Naruto would always be Naruto. It was a comforting thought to the Chakra Beast.

"Anyway, we still have years before we have to even think about it. Who knows, maybe we'll come up with something before then?"

* * *

Imagine Naruto (and the Bijuu, to a degree) as sort of a Logia. Just... without the other powers that would come with a devil fruit.


	3. Chapter Three

(EDIT) Thanks, The Sleeping Zombie, you're the first to point out a mistake. I completely forgot to add the time skip to the top!

* * *

-_13 years, 6 months later_-

"I know that this was our plan, and all, but I just don't think I can do it."

After years of planning, Naruto and the Bijuu were finally leaving the Elemental Nations. It had taken a few months, once they were freed from the younger Naruto's seal, to gather Kurama's siblings and make their preparations, but it was all coming to an end. Except for one, tiny problem.

"It's disgusting! I don't want to! You do it, Kurama!" Naruto whined, holding a single, disembodied eyeball in his hand, as far away from himself as possible.

"**Brat**," Kurama replied in exasperation, "**Look at me. And then look at what you're holding. Are you serious? There's no way that could work, idiot**!"

The blond did so, and when he realized the _slight _differential in size that Kurama was alluding to, he chuckled in embarrassment. "Heh. Oh, yeah."

"**'Yeah**,'" Kurama repeated blandly.

Naruto, suddenly conscious of the audience in the clearing, nervously reached back to rub the back of his head only to freeze when something wet and round rubbed into his hair instead. He yanked his hand back, glaring at the organ in it angrily.

"Shit! Ew, nasty!" He shouted in shock and revulsion, rubbing his hair with his other hand to get rid of the phantom feeling of the eyeball in his hair.

Kurama lowered his head into his hands in defeat. "**He's such an idiot**," he moaned.

The clearing they were in was massive, and besides Kurama, there were seven other Chakra Beasts present. The Two-through-Eight tailed Bijuu were sitting in a wide circle around Naruto, all contained within a circle, a seal, that had been carved on the ground. They were all watching the interaction between Naruto and Kurama, their 'big brother', with varying degrees of amusement or annoyance.

Chief among the 'annoyed' party was the Nibi, the Two-Tailed Bijuu; Matatabi. She had been the first among them to be extracted and sealed by the Akatsuki, and was the one that most wanted to get away from the Ninja aside from, perhaps, Kurama himself. And so, the behavior of the one that Kurama promised would help them was, in her eyes, quite annoying. According to the duo, they had all they needed to leave the Elemental Nations. The only thing holding them up was Naruto's reluctance to use the Sharingan in his hand. Granted, she was a millennia old and had the patience to match, but that didn't mean she couldn't be frustrated by his lackadaisical attitude.

"**Dumbass**!" Kurama barked. "**Be careful! We only have one of those**!"

"Yeah, yeah, you old vixen," Naruto waved him off and began walking around the clearing intently, studying the seals beneath his feet.

Kurama was already thinking of a possible comeback before Naruto addressed him, but when he heard what was said, his jaw dropped. He was speechless. That was a new one, and all of his siblings had heard it. He looked around and saw them all staring at him with identical glints in their eyes. He'd never hear the end of it.

"I'll do it," Naruto continued, easily brushing past Kurama's embarrassment, "I just wanted to double check Dad and I's seal work before I, you know, shove this bastard's severed eye into my head. Who knows if I'll even be able to see with it?"

Kurama shook himself out of his funk. "**It's going to work, Naruto. We've been over this, and your dad even helped. We planned for everything**."

Gathering up his siblings had been the easy part. Other than Shukaku, they had all been sealed within the _Gedō Mazō_, and, after the systematic dismantling of Akatsuki in the last few years by a formidable trio, had been easily acquired. Minato, Kakashi, and Jiraiya didn't have too much difficulty destroying the terrorist organization, especially with every single piece of information about them hand-delivered by Naruto and Kurama.

Minato knew of his out-of-time son's plan for the Bijuu, and though he was sad that Naruto wouldn't be staying, wholeheartedly agreed in his mission. He'd helped Naruto, over the last few months, create and design the seals they were now standing on. He'd also acquired, though it had broken his heart to learn the truth, his former student's eye for Naruto to use, along with a few other items, and kept it sealed until it was needed.

The seal, in truth, while impressive, had only a few, very basic, purposes. It assisted the individual in the middle in gathering Nature Chakra, allowed him to store it for extended periods of time, and amplified its effects when used from within. In addition, though it helped gather Nature Chakra inwards from the surroundings, it prevented any Chakra from escaping, acting similarly to the seals that generally kept the Bijuu at bay, only on a much larger scale so as to encompass all of them. It was only possible because the Bijuu weren't truly being sealed into anything, their Chakra was just being prevented from escaping while the seal was active. It would keep them all within the technique when the time came.

The gathering and retention of Nature Chakra was to assist Naruto in the technique he was planning to use. Using the massive Chakra of the Bijuu combined with the weeks of stored Nature Chakra, the Kamui would theoretically be capable of more than Obito had used it for.

What amounted to the full might of the Juubi would be pushed into a single technique. Doing so would leave the entire group exhausted and vulnerable for however long it took for their Chakra to replenish. The technique that was, in Naruto's experience, limited solely to a single separate dimension, would be massively boosted in power, allowing them, contained as a group within the seal, to break through into other, unseen dimensions.

The Natural Chakra would act as a guide. Despite Minato pouring over hundreds of possible scenarios, there was no way for the group to know if the technique would even work. But, if it did, then the Natural Chakra could, hopefully, pull them in the direction of a Dimension that also contained Natural Chakra, and therefore life. No matter how much the Bijuu wanted to get away from the Ninja world, even they weren't content to sit in an endless, lifeless, grey husk of a dimension for eternity.

Dealing with so many theoreticals was terrifying. Not just for Naruto, who the entire operation rested on, but for the Bijuu as well. They'd rarely dealt with unknowns, and the few times that they did, it ended poorly for them. Case-in-point, being sealed into Jinchuriki. The only reason that they were even reluctantly willing to go along with the insane idea was the trust that Kurama, usually the least-cooperative of them, had in Naruto.

Naruto finished his lap around the seals, his dozenth check of the day complete. The seals were without flaw, it just remained to see if what they had planned was even possible.

"I know, partner, I'm just nervous." Naruto finally replied to his friend. 'Just nervous' was an understatement.

"Naruto?" a quiet, raspy voice asked. Naruto turned in the voice's direction.

Gaara was a blip in their plans. He'd survived and escaped the attempts Akatsuki made on obtaining Shukaku through sheer luck. They'd come after him three times in total. Once was near Konoha borders. A patrol had caught wind of the battle and rushed in to assist their allies. The second, the Sasori-Deidara duo had been pushed back single handedly by Rasa, the Kazekage and Gaara's father. The last, Minato had made a surprise visit to Suna, and interrupted the attempt, killing the two S-Ranked Missing Nin in the process. Before they could attempt to capture him again, their organization was destroyed.

He was not an Uzumaki, and had no unnatural physicality that would help him survive the extraction. Naruto had fond memories of Gaara in his previous time, they'd been great friends until the redhead's death some point after the Alliance had been scattered. When he visited Suna to speak with the boy, he'd been surprised when the thirteen-year-old requested to accompany him, despite knowing only the basics of his plan.

"Yeah, Gaara?" he responded kindly.

"I have to stay here, right? Should I help with my Chakra?" he questioned.

He was standing in the one part of the circle that was not lined with seals. Instead, the ground where he was standing was noticeably empty in comparison the the rest, only a few solid lines splitting the area beneath his feet.

Naruto shook his head rapidly. "That's the last thing you need to do!" he fervently denied. "Actually," he continued, calmer, "you should try to suppress your chakra as much as possible. You'll be fine, but all of us-," he gestured at himself and the Bijuu, "-are gonna be out for a while. You'll have to watch over us. Think you can handle it?"

Gaara stared at him unblinkingly. Naruto fidgeted at the unrelenting eye contact. Finally, as if remembering that he had to show Naruto that he understood, Gaara nodded a single time and went back to staring at all of the Bijuu around him.

Gaara was the only one among them actually made of flesh and blood. Had he been a normal human, he wouldn't have been capable of accompanying them, but he still had Shukaku sealed inside of his stomach. The presence of the Bijuu within him greatly increased the density of his own Chakra, allowing him to take part in the technique, if in a different capacity than the others.

Naruto approached the center of the seal and began preparing himself. He was no longer made of flesh, and as such had a much-dulled response to pain, but there was something particularly gruesome about shoving someone else's eye into your own head no matter now painful –or not- it might be.

"Is everyone ready?" he asked, he voice clear and steady in spite of the fear he was feeling.

He received a variety of response, but they were all positive. He smiled. This was it.

He reached up to his face, his hand cupped to scoop his right 'eye' out. He really was pure chakra, so the way he looked at it, he no longer had any 'real' body parts. His chakra simulated it all from its memory of being human, but it wasn't technically the same.

It would be tricky. As soon as his 'eye' was removed, he would have to concentrate his chakra to the socket, to control it, to prevent it from simply reforming so that he could slowly insert the Sharingan and allow it to amalgamate with his own Chakra. It would be a chore to have to constantly focus on it in the coming months, provided that the eye even survived its first use, so as not to completely burn it out of his own head. Its secret technique was the only way their plan could work though, it was necessary.

"Here goes!" he muttered to himself.

He shook with revulsion as he felt his fingertips digging into the back of his eye socket. He closed his left eye so that he wouldn't see what was about to occur. He tightened his grip on his eyeball and pulled, the cord, the optic nerve, stretching taught and then snapping. It was a truly abominable sensation. The eye that he'd pulled out then disintegrated into blue Chakra within his grasp.

Despite the tight leash that he had on his Chakra, he could feel the telltale tingle of the nerve beginning to regenerate, and he quickly brought the Sharingan up to its newly vacated receptacle. With his eyelids spread as wide as they could be, he placed the Sharingan, which had, through a small application of his own Chakra, attached itself to his broken optic nerve, into the socket. He pushed the organ in all the way with a 'pop', and his shoulders relaxed in relief. A bright flash of white appeared in his vision, and he spent a few moments rolling both of his eyes around in his head, synchronizing them, getting used to the feeling of the foreign body part inside of him.

The reason that he was undergoing this 'minor' surgical procedure moments before their departure time was, though he was dubious, recommended to him by Minato, who had consulted Kakashi, discreetly, on his own Sharingan. He wouldn't be as used to the eye as he would have been if he'd immediately implanted it, and that was what they were, somewhat, counting on. The Kamui was not meant to bring its user to more than a select few dimensions. However, with the little control that he would have over the technique coupled with the massive amount of power, he'd hopefully be able to circumvent that particular hurdle.

It really was worrying that this entire process relied so much on purposefully faulty techniques and chance. Then again, it seemed like that was what half his life had been centered around thus far, so it couldn't be too terrible.

The knowledge of the eye's abilities, like Sasuke'd once told him, and as Kakashi had confirmed to Minato, quickly began trickling into his mind.

Naruto sat down in the middle of the circle, cross legged, and closed his eyes. The Bijuu followed his example. Gaara, as he'd been instructed to do, remained standing. While Naruto began gathering more Natural Chakra to enter Sage Mode, the Bijuu began to furiously channel their own power into the seal beneath them.

The ground shook. The seal began glowing different shades, the colors of each Bijuu's chakra seeming to battle for dominance as they flowed to the center of the seal, to Naruto. Naruto, having attained the proper state, opened his eyes. His right eye, recently transplanted, spun, the three-triangle design twirling ominously. His left eye was also noticeably different from its usual appearance. The iris was a deep gold rather than gleaming sapphire, and his pupil had mutated into a horizontal bar, unmistakable signs of the secret technique. He planted his hands flat on the ground on either side of him.

The shaking grew in intensity. A miniature earthquake was encompassing the clearing, the earth being destroyed not by a technique, but simply by the amount of Chakra being generated in one spot. Still, the seal held firm.

Within seconds, the color of the seal balanced out, becoming solid white. The light being generated from the lines distorted the image of all within, until it was impossible for any to discern what was occurring.

When he finally sensed that enough Chakra had been gathered, Naruto began channeling a small amount of power to his new Sharingan eye, preparing to activate the technique.

"_Kamui!_" he intoned. It wasn't necessary for him to say the name of the technique out loud, but it would help the others prepare for the disorienting sensation that was sure to follow.

A swirl, the distortion of space, encompassed the seal and all of its occupants. From its appearance, it should have been an incredibly painful experience. However, there really wasn't any feeling other than nausea involved, despite being torn from one plane of existence and thrown into another.

The light of the Chakra generated a beam that traveled directly upwards, hundreds of feet. Soon it, along with the nine individuals that had been at its center, disappeared from the Elemental Nations.

The light was a beacon for any individual curious and brave enough to investigate, should they be in the vicinity. One such person was; he was the one that helped to design the technique, after all. As he approached to clearing, he could still sense the residual, massive power that had been there seconds previously. Smoke was rising from an empty, perfect circle of burnt-out earth, the only remaining evidence of the technique that had been performed. Just outside the circle, there was a book lying on the ground. He approached it and studied the cover. It simply read,

"_To: Dad_

_From, Naruto_"

and had a poorly drawn peace sign drawn underneath the writing. The man smiled, glad that, though his son hadn't properly said goodbye, hadn't entirely forgotten about him.

* * *

In his mind's eye, Naruto could see that the first part of the technique had worked. Their odd assortment of individuals was grouped up in the darkness, though most of them were insensate. Gaara was looking around curiously, desperately, for a sign of… anything. The Bijuu, however, had given so much chakra to the technique that they'd been forced into a sort of pseudo-unconsciousness, unique to beings such as them, that allowed them to, more rapidly than humans, recover their lost power.

"Stay still, Gaara!" he called out to the boy who looked back at him and nodded.

"We're beyond the dimensions of the Kamui that I was familiar with," Naruto muttered. He was glad that Gaara was such a quiet boy, he didn't want to have to explain to him that he had absolutely no idea what he was doing.

Suddenly, he felt a pulling sensation. A tug, only it was centered around his Chakra. His Nature Chakra. He smiled. His dad, that damned genius, had been right! He followed the feeling, the eight others tied to him by the seal just behind him.

Soon, having only traveled for a couple of minutes, the feeling increased, the intensity of it bordering on uncomfortable. Travelling in absolute darkness was weird. He had no way of knowing if they'd been moving at a walking or running speed, or something more extreme. They could have moved hundreds of miles, or barely an inch, and he had no way to no. There was no wind on his face here, no landmarks to denote distance, only unyielding darkness. It was humbling. He was at the complete mercy of his own technique, one that he'd deliberately interfered with.

The feeling reached what seemed to be its apex. He doubled over, the pressure feeling like a punch to the gut. He was left gasping for air. Naruto knew that it was now or never, and again chanted, "_Kamui!"_

The massive distortion in space appeared again, swallowing them all, and Naruto felt his Sage Mode begin to slip. He hadn't felt exhaustion in that dark non-dimension they were within, he hadn't allowed himself to. But the twisting, spinning experience of being forcefully sucked into an unknown dimension was proving to be enough to disorient him.

He blinked, forcefully clearing the spots that had begun appearing in his vision, and grit his teeth. Within seconds, it was over. His vision went black, and the last image he saw was of the bodies of the Bijuu, unconscious on a forest floor and Gaara, staring, as he was wont to do, at the lot of them. He'd done it.

Naruto fell back, grin etched on his face.

* * *

'_Now what?_'

Gaara stood in the middle of the unconscious Bijuu. Even Shukaku was quiet, though he hadn't given any Chakra to the process.

Gaara lifted his hand and concentrated his Chakra underneath his feet. The ground rumbled, and soon sand, though not as pure as what he was used to in Suna, rose into the air. He closed his eyes and focused more, using his Chakra to buff the particles, refining the sand into the type that he was more used to. When he was done, it swirled around him, latching onto his skin and forming a protective armor, and coalescing into what would soon be a gourd on his back. He looked at the sky, and from what he believed to be this world's sun, he assumed that it was right around midday.

He sat down and closed his eyes, determined to meditate until either Naruto or one of the Bijuu woke. He was asked to protect them, wherever they ended up, until they regained their strength.

From the edges of his perception, he felt a presence. It was unlike anything he'd ever felt before. It almost felt like an animal, but one of the traits of sensing was that animals and other non-, or at least, less-intelligent creatures didn't register. So, what he was feeling was obviously sentient. But he had no way of knowing who or what it was until it approached, as he refused to leave the side of those that brought him to this new world, away from the hostility of his village.

He could feel it creeping closer. It was rather stealthy, if his Chakra hadn't been soaked into the ground all around them, it was doubtful that he would have known that it was even there.

"Who are you?" a distinctly young, female voice called out.

Gaara stared at the direction of the individual, deliberating on whether or not he should answer. After a few moments, he came to the conclusion that it couldn't hurt.

As he opened his mouth to reply, the presence darted forward.

_Fast_, was his first thought. The figure, that he still couldn't make out completely due to the speed it was moving at, launched an arm at him once it was within striking distance.

His sand rose up to block the strike. While it was surprising fast, his sand was still faster. Sensing a fight, Shukaku once again made itself known. He began cheering within Gaara's mind.

"Yeah! Tear her apart, kid!" he screeched. Gaara winced at the being's annoying voice. "Take her arms! I want her blood!"

"No!" Gaara responded, twisting his arm to direct his sand at his attacker. "I'm not killing anyone for you, anymore!" he cried. His sand latched onto the, now identified, bunny's leg, and sent her sprawling to the floor.

"No," he repeated, quieter. "I'm not in Suna anymore, Shukaku."

Meanwhile, the bunny, from her place on the ground, was terribly concerned. Her target, the only one conscious among a group that had appeared from nowhere within their home's Whale Forest, was talking to himself. That was generally a bad sign, but he _did_ say that he wouldn't be killing her, so perhaps it was a good thing?

It was her job, as a member of the Inuarashi Musketeer Tribe, to either capture or eliminate any intruders. She had, foolishly, approached the boy alone after she'd felt, with her limited power of observation, a distortion of power from their location. He'd been on his own, his only companion was unconscious nearby, surrounded in mysterious new hills. She had too much confidence in herself, though, and was now paying the price. The sand had, by now, encased both of her legs and arms, pinning her to the ground. She was trapped, and at the mysterious kid's mercy.

Gaara, with a forceful mental shove, blocked out the sound of the Ichibi's taunting voice. Naruto told him that once they got to their destination, he'd be disciplining the Bijuu, but for now he had to make do.

He looked at the anthropomorphic bunny that he'd trapped on the ground.

"Don't you know it's rude to ask for my name without giving yours first?" he asked. It was meant as a joke, he'd been trying his best recently, but his voice still held no inflection. It had the unintended effect of unnerving the bunny even further, especially when coupled with his unending stare.

She warily glared at him, but refused to answer his question. "You just wait till Sicilian gets here!" she shouted. After her outburst she apparently remembered that she could use her voice. "Sicilian! Wanda!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Shut up. You're loud," he covered her mouth with his sand.

The next few minutes were spent in tense silence. Gaara and the Bunny were having what felt like a staring contest, but it was interrupted by a loud groan from the direction of the redhead's unconscious companions.

* * *

Naruto sat up, his head pounding. His right eye, the Sharingan, was closed. He didn't want to know what he'd done to it. It was probably nothing more than charred flesh with the amount of power that had been poured through it.

He looked around, taking note of the unconscious Bijuu around him, before his eyes fell upon a peculiar scene. Gaara, ever the stoic, was crouched, hands on his knees, and staring directly into the eyes of what looked like a giant human bunny that he'd trapped to the ground with his sand.

Maybe he was hallucinating? He closed his other eyes as the pounding returned full force. He fell back again, groaning, and felt the redheads stare on him now that he was aware he'd regained consciousness.

"Gaara?" he called out from his position on the floor.

"Yes, Naruto?" the quiet boy responded, his tone perfectly polite.

"Where the hell did you get a giant rabbit?" he asked, and heard muffled noises, presumably of indignation, hidden behind Gaara's makeshift sand-gag.

"This one attacked us minutes after our arrival. I assumed that you wouldn't want her dead," he said simply, as if capturing attacking bunnies was just a normal something that one _does._

"Can it talk?" Naruto asked wearily. Minutes in and they were already being attacked. Not a good sign.

"She tried to call for help. So I covered her mouth."

"Did you try asking what she wanted?" Naruto questioned.

"She wouldn't even tell me her name."

Naruto groaned again, but stood up. It was a trying process. His entire body felt like it had when he was human, and had just gone toe-to-toe with Lee.

He made his way over to the two, and took note of the being, girl, _Gaara said 'she',_ that the young Jinchuriki had captured.

"Can I talk to her?" he asked Gaara before turning to the girl. "Will you talk to me?" She glared at him and he sighed. It seemed he was making a habit of that.

"I just want to ask a few questions; you don't have to answer if you do don't want." He explained calmly, hoping to appease her with such a light request. He motioned to Gaara to uncover her mouth, and the boy did so.

"Where are we?" was the first thing, naturally, he asked. The bunny looked confused at his question.

"Is that a joke?" she asked. She hadn't meant to reply, but it was just… such a ridiculous question. Her words spilled out. It was impossible for him to not know where they were, with how hard it was to get there.

"It's not," he reassured, "I'm afraid that we have absolutely no idea where we are!"

She squinted at him in suspicion. He'd said that so cheerfully. It was weird.

"You're in Zou, the land of the Minks." _But you already know that,_ she thought to herself.

Naruto looked at her, and though his frustration wasn't visible, it was there. "That… Is not very helpful. Is there a city nearby? How big is this forest? Are there other people like," he gestured to himself, "me? Or is everyone here like you?"

The rapid-fire questions gave the man's confusion a little more credibility. She decided to humor him, if only a little.

"Zou is an island in the New World. We're in the Whale Forest. And, I just told you, it's the land of the Minks, like me," she paused, wondering how much she should tell him. It was likely he already knew the answer to the questions he was asking. "You humans don't come by too much. There's a city, but you won't be allowed near it. Once Sicilian gets here, he's gonna kick your butts!" she declared, deciding that she'd said enough.

Naruto could tell that she was done. "Well, thanks for letting us know. I'm Naruto! Naruto Uzumaki!" He introduced himself and then gestured to Gaara. "And the quiet one is Gaara. I promise that we don't mean you or your people any harm." He said earnestly.

"Gaara, you can let her go. I should be able to defend us if anyone else comes, but I'd rather not fight." He said, more for the bunny's benefit than for Gaara's. He wanted to come off as non-threatening as possible.

Gaara released his control of the sand pinning her legs to the ground, and she immediately leapt backwards, and then up into the trees.

"I'll be back," she cautioned, before jumping away.

Naruto turned back to the redhead with a grin on his face. "I think that went pretty well!" he declared. "Good job not killing her, kid," he congratulated Gaara, and ruffled the boy's hair.

A blush rose to Gaara's face, though it was hidden by his sand armor. He didn't say anything in response, in the wake of his embarrassment.

"Well, I would have liked to go exploring, but it looks like I'm gonna have to wait until that girl and her 'Sicilian' show up!" he said, laughing. He walked up to Kurama's passed out body and kicked him in the head. "Oi! Ku- Kyuubi! Wake up, asshole!"

Gaara, usually a master of his expression, stepped back in shock and his eyes popped wide open. The blond just kicked a Bijuu! In the head!

"Wake up or I'm gonna fill your ear with dirt!" he shouted, kicking the fox's head yet again.

The massive Chakra Beast shot to his feet, shaking the ground, growling at the blond before him. "**Don't you fucking dare, brat! You know how much work it is to get that out**!"

The Bijuu looked smaller than he did before they left, but Gaara could tell that he was larger than he'd been when they first arrived. It seemed that the Bijuu had regained enough of their Chakra, but were still just asleep, recovering as fast as they could.

Suddenly, the fox froze, falling into a position low to the ground. It seemed like he was listening to the dirt, but the next second, he asked, "**Naruto, can you feel that**?"

"Feel what?" Naruto had no idea what Kurama was going on about. Gaara was just as confused.

"**I'll be back. I have to check something**." And with that, he bounded away. His strides were enormous, and he was out of sight within seconds.

"Wonder what's got him so spooked?" Naruto asked to no one in particular.

"The Kyuubi was… Spooked?" Gaara asked, disbelieving.

Naruto nodded his head. "He doesn't get that way often, but when he does, its for good reason. We'll know when he gets back. Rest up a bit, Gaara, and let me take a look at your seal."

Gaara nodded, and looked at Naruto hopefully. Maybe he would finally talk sense into the Ichibi? Gaara didn't want to hate him, he didn't want to hate anyone, anymore, but the Bijuu made it really difficult sometimes.

Nearly an hour later, Naruto picked himself up from his hunched-over position above a shirtless, sleeping Gaara. The seal containing the Ichibi looked more solid than it had before, and Naruto put his hand on it in order to channel his Chakra through it. The seal glowed blue, and then faded to black. Gaara continued to sleep.

"You can come out, you know." Naruto said, his voice blank. "I know you've been watching me for a few minutes, now."

A man-no, a _Mink_ stepped out of the undergrowth surrounding the Bijuu's 'basecamp', striding forward to stand a few feet in front of Naruto.

"I guess you're Sicilian?" Naruto asked rhetorically. He could see the bunny further back, hidden in the shadows of the trees.

"What is your business here?" he ignored the blond's question. Usually he would attack first and ask later, but the redhead had easily taken out his subordinate with what was clearly a Devil Fruit ability. He would be wise to proceed with caution, especially as the girl had reported that the boy that captured her deferred to the man now in front of him.

"Haven't really gotten that far, yet," the blond chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. He was clearly too at-ease in the tense situation. "We sorta just got here, y'know. Then your friend back there," he pointed directly at the bunny, who jumped at being found out, "attacked us for no reason! What's the big idea?"

"She attacked you," Sicilian started slowly; it was clear the blond was simple, "because we are the sworn defenders of this land. And you are trespassing."

"She could have said that before trying to brain my friend here, don't ya think?" he gestured to Gaara's sleeping form. "How were we supposed to know not to come here?" Naruto deflected.

"It says so on the entrance gate." Sicilian growled. He wanted to attack the blond, but he couldn't get a read on him. It was clear that he wasn't the average human.

The ground started shaking. Sicilian looked around, bewildered. Naruto, on the other hand, sighed.

"You'd think he could at least try to be stealthy. What a useless fox," he said to himself.

"**Narutooo**!" A booming voice called out, echoing across the expanse of the forest.

Naruto looked at Sicilian helplessly. "Excuse me for just a moment."

He turned around and leapt into the air. Sicilian, somewhat surprised at the massive leap, followed his trajectory and felt his jaw drop open at the sight. A fox, so massive that it positively towered over the trees, was bounding towards them. He was absolutely positive that he'd never seen a fox that size in their lands before, and was shocked further when it opened its mouth and called out the blond's name once more.

"**Naruto**!"

"What, you stupid, bastard fox?!" the man shouted irritably from his place in the air. He looked to be hovering, or at least falling slower than he should have been. His voice, while not nearly as loud as the foxes, still reached Sicilian's ears without much difficulty as a result of his enhanced senses. "I was talking with someone! And now look, everybody in the entire country knows where we are! You're too damn big!"

The blond fell out of the sky and delivered a heel-drop the to fox's snout. Sicilian wasn't expecting much, but when the fox's approach was completely halted and it shot to the ground to land in a heap, he was glad that he'd made the decision to withhold his attack. He quickly chased towards the commotion, leaving the unconscious redheaded boy behind for his subordinate to deal with.

Sicilian approached the downed fox as the blond fell from the sky to land in front of it. To his surprise, the massive fox looked unhurt, like the powerful kick somehow had no effect on it.

"**Naruto**!" he heard it exclaim, the depth of its voice making it sound like a constant growl. So that was his name. Carrot tried to tell him, but he wasn't really listening. "**I've never seen anything like it**."

"What do you mean?"

"**When I woke up, I was overwhelmed by the feeling of Nature Chakra. It's everywhere**," Naruto nodded. He'd sensed it too. "**But then, I realized that it was in the ground, too. The ground is alive**."

Sicilian didn't know why they were so surprised by this. He didn't know what Nature Chakra was, but it was impossible to get to Zou unless you scaled Zunisha. It simply wasn't done. They had to know the true nature of the island.

"That's… weird, but not weird enough for you to freak like this. What's going on?"

"**Naruto, we're not on land**."

"Did you hit your head or something?" He stomped his feet. "Look, of course we're on land!"

"**Naruto, we're on the back of a giant animal**."

Naruto shut up.

"**I went all the way to the edge. At first I thought we were on an island**."

He stayed silent.

"**This thing we're on… It's walking through the water. Naruto, we're at least seven kilometers above an ocean right now**." Even as he said it, Kurama could scarcely believe it.

Sicilian approached them. Either they were the world's best actors, or they really didn't know where they were.

He addressed the stunned teenager. "He's telling the truth, you know. This is our home."

Naruto shook his head in disbelief. "That's not possible. That doesn't make any sense. How is it even alive? What does it eat? There's no way!"

"Zunisha has carried the Mink tribe on its back for a thousand years," Sicilian said. "He hosts our people on the 'moving island of Zou'."

"**Oi, brat**," the fox rumbled. Naruto was taken out of his thoughts, and looked up. "**Who's the cat**?" Kurama's massive red eyes were trained on Sicilian.

"Oh!" forgetting about the fact that defied all logic, he focused back on the situation at hand. "Kyuubi," Naruto began, using Kurama's title, "this is Sicilian. Sicilian, Kyuubi. Sicilian's been teaching me about the place, too." Naruto said brightly.

Just then, presumably another Mink, a dog this time, landed besides Sicilian.

"Sicilian. What's this?" the new arrival asked gruffly.

Sicilian quickly turned and bowed to the individual, a clear sign of deference.

"Sir," he began, "Carrot first found the intruders about an hour ago. She was easily defeated when she initiated contact, but the intruders released her, and she found me."

The dog nodded.

"She led me to them, and I encountered the blond one, Naruto is his name, though all he did was ask questions. Apparently, they do not know where they are. That is as far as I was able to get before this fox appeared."

"You did well in not attacking, Sicilian. I can tell that it would not have ended well."

The dog took a few steps forward, seemingly intent on addressing Naruto and the giant fox.

"I am known as Duke Inuarashi," he introduced himself, "My counterpart, Master Nekomamushi and I are the two rulers of Zou. What is your purpose here?"

Naruto made eye contact with the fox before looking back towards Inuarashi. He shrugged. It couldn't hurt, really. They were already standing on top of one impossibility.

"We used one of my abilities to leave our country," Naruto explained. "I think that it brought us to the greatest source of Natural Chakra that it could find. We didn't know where we were until you guys told us, though."

Inuarashi looked confused at his answer. "Your technique? Do you mean a Devil Fruit ability?"

Kurama cut in. "**Yes**," he said evenly, "**Naruto used a Devil Fruit ability to bring us here.**"

Better to let them assume.

"I see. And, what, or who, are you?" he asked, directing his attention to the hulking beast before him.

"**I'm a fox**." Was all the information Kurama gave about himself. Naruto looked at him questioningly, but he was succinctly ignored. "**You may call me Kyuubi**." He flourished his tails, spreading them out so that the two strangers could see where his title came from.

Duke Inuarashi knew there was more to it, but he let it slide. They had the upper hand, after all, as he could tell that the multi-tailed fox alone was a powerful threat, not to mention the blond man. It wouldn't do to make enemies they couldn't deal with within their own lands where they could help it.

Naruto reinserted himself into the conversation. "We're just looking for a place to recover, and to learn about where we've ended up."

Inuarashi nodded. Though it wasn't ideal, it was acceptable.

"I can't let you into the village. It's against our laws. Besides, Kyuubi, you're far too large." Both intruders nodded their heads in acceptance. That was a good sign. "But I can allow you to stay in the forest. Master Nekomamushi will be informed of your arrival, and someone will be sent to answer your questions. Does that sound tolerable?" he asked.

The fox nodded while Naruto grinned.

"Sure thing, old man! We'll be where you found us, and I'll let everyone know to stay away from the village! Thanks!" He abruptly leapt onto the fox's head, just between its eyes, and the animal leapt away.

* * *

"Duke Inuarashi, are you sure that this is wise?" Sicilian asked. He'd been silent the entire conversation, leaving it all to his ruler to decide.

"I am not certain," Inuarashi said quietly, ruminating on the whiskered teenager and massive fox. He was also curious what the boy'd meant by 'everyone'. "But I do know one thing. That fox alone would have little difficulty besting me. I believe that we should stay on good terms with this group, at least until they give us a reason to attack."

Sicilian nodded. Despite his years abroad, Inuarashi was far more worldly than he. He would listen to the man's advice.

* * *

Kurama at full size is less than 100 meters tall. Zunisha is 35 kilometers tall. For those of you that don't know, that's over 350x as tall as Kurama. While the Bijuu could certainly take out Zunisha in a similar manner to what Jack almost did (Bijuudama to the kneecaps), the scale is what freaked the fox out so much. He's used to being the biggest, baddest thing around.


	4. Chapter Four

"What the hell do you mean, slaves?" Naruto squawked in indignation. "Why does the government let them?"

Naruto had been like this for the entire conversation. Granted, the things he reacted to were inexcusable, but slowed the discussion so much that even Gaara was getting annoyed, if the twitch in his eye was anything to go on.

"The World Government is at their beck and call, boy," Pedro said calmly, though Naruto could see the fire of rage in his eyes, too. "The Celestial Dragons own the world."

Pedro was the former captain of the Nox Pirates. The reason that he'd been selected to fill in Naruto's groups knowledge gaps was because, out of the entire Mink population, besides Duke Inuarashi and Master Nekomamushi, Pedro was the most well-travelled. And, though he was a Pirate, he is still a man of great honor, and Duke Inuarashi knew that he would give the most unbiased responses to all of their questions.

"**Naruto**," a deep voice rumbled warily, "**I don't like that look on your face**."

The boy looked at the Bijuu. "You know I can't help it, Kurama," he said. "I can't just ignore it!"

"**From what Sicilian has been saying, this place is a lot bigger than we're used to. What hope do you have?**" Kurama asked, hoping that Naruto would give it up. He knew it was futile, but he'd be damned if he didn't try.

Naruto struck a comical pose, his frame illuminated by the light of their fire. He put one hand on his hip and pointed the other straight at Kurama. "Now look at what you've done, Fox!" he said loudly. "Now I have to prove to you that I can! I'll change the world! Believe it!"

"That's easier said than done. Believe me, I know." Pedro said. He was prepared to answer plenty of questions; he just hadn't expected the newcomers to be so… ridiculously uninformed. They hadn't even known who The Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, was!

Naruto looked back to where Pedro had been standing moments before. The man was gone. He looked up, and saw the jaguar Mink crouched on a branch, half-way up a tree.

"What the hell are you doing up there, weirdo?" he asked.

"I can still answer your questions, can I not?" the ex-captain responded.

Naruto shrugged. He didn't really care where the man decided to stand.

"**It really is deplorable, the state of this 'World Government'**," a different voice said.

Of the seven remaining Bijuu, only Isobu and Son Goku decided to join the conversation with Pedro. The rest of the Bijuu wanted to explore the Elephant they were on, Zunisha, as much as they were allowed. They'd agreed to steer clear of the city in the center of the 'island' and also the 'Whale', the largest tree in the forest. Both areas were off-limits for outsiders.

And wasn't that a surprise for the Jaguar. What Carrot, the bunny Mink that made first contact, had initially reported to the Inuarashi Musketeer Squad during the daytime was that the intruders could be found among several new hills in the middle of Whale Forest, not far from the Great Tree. Pedro hadn't expected those 'hills' to begin moving around when he arrived, and wind up being massive beasts, the supposed siblings of the giant Fox they'd been briefed on! He supposed that they where the others that Naruto had mentioned, the ones that he'd been told to watch out for by Master Nekomamushi.

Of the two Bijuu that stayed behind, Son Goku was the only one that had actively participating in the conversation. It stood to reason, based on what Naruto remembered of the turtle, that Isobu just wanted to listen, and was likely too timid to speak up unless he was prompted to.

"**It could even be worse than our homeland, if only because it is on a larger scale**," Son Goku continued.

Naruto looked up at him. "When I was fifteen, I made a promise to my mentor, and to myself. I promised that one day, with my own two hands, I'd help bring peace to the world."

Pedro looked at the blond in interest. That was a powerful, worthy promise.

"I can't condone slavery, or a government that allows it. If I have to go against them and become a criminal to do what's right, I will." Naruto said, his tone deathly serious. "I'm gonna honor my promise, no matter where I am!"

"**You're a good kid, Naruto. But you should take it slow**," Son Goku told him. "**You have no knowledge of the threats outside of this land.**"

"I'm not about to start a one-man-war against the entire world, Yonbi," Naruto informed him, "Don't forget, I am a ninja. Nin nin!" As he said those words he squared his shoulders and formed Tora in front of his face. He held the pose for an uncomfortable length of time, his audience of five watching in amusement.

"You're an idiot." Gaara, quiet thus far, said to him, but Naruto could tell he felt a little better. The present Bijuu nodded in agreement with Gaara.

Naruto smiled and relaxed. Atrocities like slavery were few and far between in the Elemental Nations. He didn't want the revelation of such thing existing here to affect Gaara more than necessary.

"What about you, Isobu?" Naruto asked the shy turtle. The Sanbi had already introduced himself to Pedro, so Naruto used his name freely. "What do you think?"

The turtle blushed and half-retreated into his shell. His voiced sounded far more adolescent than the other Bijuu, lacking the rasp that accompanied their usual rumbles. "**Well**," he said, "**I think… that I'm going to ask if I can stay here, with the Minks**."

Naruto blinked. "Why would you wanna do something like that? Didn't you hear Pedro? The world is huge!"

"**Naruto,"** the Sanbi said seriously, "**He also said that they've lived here in peace for a thousand years. That is what I, we've been looking for!"**

Naruto considered the turtle's response for a moment and nodded. That really was exactly what many of the Bijuu wanted, to be able to walk among others without being pursued for their power. The Mokomo Dukedom seemed to be full of wholesome, honorable, well-intentioned people, based on their experiences thus-far, and it was situated on an untraceable, walking, massive island. It was perhaps the safest the Bijuu could be, if the leaders of the Minks allowed it.

Pedro listened intently to the conversation that had picked up around him.

"**Additionally I think that if people ever found out about us Bijuu, they'd start hunting us all over again**," this time it was Son Goku that spoke. "**Especially the World Government. From what Pedro has told us, it appears that they do their best to monopolize power. We'd be perfect for them.**"

Naruto nodded sadly. "I wish I'd brought you to a safer place," he said, his voice full of regret. He was excited by the world that he'd brought them to, but that was because he didn't have nearly the same worries as the Bijuu. They'd experienced hardships that had made them world-weary, the likes of which he couldn't yet begin to imagine.

"**It's all right Naruto**," Isobu said. "**You know what we are, maybe once this era dies down we can all go exploring together**!"

"I think that would be nice, Isobu." Naruto said with an indulgent smile. It would be nice, Naruto only hoped they could remain undetected long enough to see it through.

"Do you really plan to explore the world, Naruto?" asked Gaara.

"I do," he said, nodding at the boy. "although…" he looked at Kurama, "I hope that I won't be going alone."

The Bijuu huffed. "**Yeah, yeah, yeah**." He said, rolling his eyes. "**Of **_**course**_** I wouldn't get to relax in the perfect safety of a hidden society. Of **_**course**_** my idiotic, hyperactive ex-jailor can't sit still for more than a few days**."

"Yeah!" He cheered, ignoring the sarcasm. "It'll be just like Jiraiya Sensei's sixth book!"

He received a scathing and disgusted look from his friend. "Except, y'know…" he said, backtracking, "You're a fox, and my name's not 'Yuki'. And we can ignore chapters two through eleven, too. Heh." the intensity of the glare grew. "I'm going to shut up now."

"**Brat, I suggest you start moving**."

Naruto blinked owlishly at the Kyuubi, turned on his heels, and disappeared faster than the eye could follow. Kurama quickly repeated the action.

From his place in the trees, Pedro asked, "So, what is this 'Jiraiya's' sixth book?"

"Jiraiya of the Sannin is the author of the Ichi Ichi (Make Out) book series," Gaara said blandly.

Pedro put two and two together. "Ah."

* * *

"You know I meant the adventure, Kurama!" Naruto wailed as he ran away.

"**Calm down, Naruto. We need to talk**." The Bijuu ordered once they'd gotten a sufficient distance away. He slowed to a stop.

Naruto dug his feet into the ground.

"What's up?" he asked.

"**You heard my brothers," **he stated,** "I think they're right**."

"What, you think we should stay here? There's no way I could do that!" Naruto exclaimed. He'd been cooped up for the last thirteen years, and he definitely didn't have the patience of the Bijuu.

"**I'm not saying we have to stay, brat**," the Kyuubi said, "y**ou've already done so much for them. But I think that until you and I can scout out the place, they would be safest here**." He was serious.

Naruto smiled at him. "Looking out for your little siblings, neh, Kurama?" The Bijuu spluttered.

"It's ok, I understand," Naruto said a little more seriously. "I'm worried about Gaara, too."

"**He might not be the most stable but he's a competent ninja**," Kurama said. "**Why are you worried**?"

"I can't take him with me," Naruto replied, "We're going to be surrounded by ocean, and Gaara's one defense is sand! He'd be vulnerable." He shook his head. "I can't risk that. Plus, he and Shukaku still have a long way to go before they can call each other 'partner'."

Kurama relented. He hadn't thought about that. When they made land, the kid would be fine. But in an open-ocean battle, he'd be, at best, at a disadvantage. At worst he'd be a huge liability. And, he agreed, Shukaku is definitely a hindrance. The Ichibi had always been an idiot.

"**I understand**," he rumbled, "**We should speak with the rest before we plan further**."

Kurama began to head back to the clearing they'd dubbed their basecamp. He immediately noticed that Naruto wasn't following him, to he turned back to the ninja to see him fidgeting, rooted to the spot. It was clear that he wanted to say something, but didn't know how to go about it.

"**What is it, brat**?" he asked.

"I… don't think I should say," he muttered in embarrassment.

"**We're not playing this game again, idiot. If you're not going to tell me, I'm leaving**." There! That usually worked on him.

Naruto met Kurama's gaze. "You really won't like it, though." He said despondently, kicking the dirt at his feet.

"**You're acting like a little civilian female, Naruto**," he growled, "**Just say it already**!"

"Fine!" Naruto acquiesced. "I wanna be a pirate!"

"**Why wouldn't I be okay with that**?" Kurama asked, confused.

Naruto blinked. "I didn't think you'd like pirates," he confessed, "because of all of the stories back in the Elemental Nations."

"**Brat, I never paid attention to your silly human stories. Truthfully, this is the first that I've heard of them at all. I do not recall encountering any back home**," he explained. "**But, if their existence challenges the structure of this detestable 'World Government', they cannot be too terrible."**

"You mean it?" he asked hopefully. "Then it's settled! I'm gonna be a pirate, and I'll stick it to the government!"

"**I think you're forgetting something, Naruto**." Kyuubi said, too calmly.

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"**Me, you idiot**!" He shouted, shaking the forest around them. "**How will I fit on a pirate ship**?!"

"Well, couldn't you just walk next to the ship?" Naruto asked innocently. He hadn't put much thought into it, yet.

"**Dumbass, I'm not walking across an entire ocean**." Kurama deadpanned.

"Then… We'll just have to find a ship big enough for you!" he declared.

"**You say that like it will be easy. From what Pedro told us, I'm the size of most ships**!" Kurama admonished.

"Well, yeah. Most ships. There's gotta be some out there that can fit your fat ass!" Naruto laughed, unconcerned. They'd figure it out.

"**Brat**!" Kurama raged, and began their chase again.

* * *

Soon after the duo had run off from the glade, Pedro also departed. It was nearing midnight, and Master Nekomamushi wanted Pedro's report on the intruders before he deigned to meet them himself.

He approached the Whale Tree, one of the few places on the island that would be completely isolated at this time of night. The newcomers weren't permitted within its vicinity. While they were also not permitted near the city, Pedro and Master Nekomamushi didn't want to have the coming discussion where it could be accidentally overheard. The only ones in Zou that even knew of the new presences were the Guardians and the Inuarashi Musketeer Squad.

Master Nekomamushi was sitting at the base of the tree with his eyes closed. Pedro had no doubt that his presence had already been sensed, but he didn't offer a greeting until he stood in front of the Lion Mink.

"Master Nekomamushi," Pedro greeted, inclining his head in respect.

"Pedro," the man acknowledged, "What have you learned?"

Pedro jumped right into it. "Other than the two humans, Naruto and Gaara, there are eight others. Naruto mentioned that he is a Ninja, as well. I can only assume the same of the other human."

"Eight?" Nekomamushi asked abruptly. They'd only been aware of the fox.

"Yes. From what I can tell, the rest are somehow related to the Fox, who goes by the name of 'Kyuubi'," Pedro paused, "Though, now that I say it out loud, that sounds more like a title than a name."

"How so?" The lion asked.

"The ones that I saw had multiple tails. Yonbi is the one that I spoke to the most, and he is, I believe, a red gorilla with four tails. The fox went by Kyuubi and possessed nine tails. I also spoke with a three tailed turtle who introduced himself as Isobu, which leads me to believe that the others are using their titles."

Master Nekomamushi grunted. "You could be right. But go on, I don't much care for their names. Did you find out their intentions?" He asked. "Will they leave peacefully?"

"As much as initial findings can be trusted, I believe I've found what they want," he looked at Nekomamushi in trepidation. He'd enjoyed the conversation with the newcomers, regardless of how basic and slow it was. "Though," he said, "I am not confident that you will approve. May I provide you with my personal view of their dispositions beforehand?"

Master Nekomamushi's first reaction to the situation was confusion. The intruders were being allowed to stay in the Forest? Then, he was informed that the group had made a sort-of temporary truce with Inuarashi, and he understood. At least until the newcomers proved themselves untrustworthy, he would honor that truce.

So why was Pedro dancing around the issue? He decided to allow the man's request, it couldn't hurt.

"Go ahead," he agreed.

"Thank you, sir," Pedro said. "I spoke with five of them, Naruto, Gaara, Kyuubi, Yonbi, and Isobu, for over four hours. During my time with them, not once did I perceive any intent to harm, or other suspicious behavior."

Master Nekomamushi listened to his top subordinate intently.

"In fact, it was the opposite. Towards the end of our discussion, the blond one, Naruto, interrupted. You see, they'd been asking me simple facts about the world, things that I cannot believe that they didn't know beforehand."

Nekomamushi interrupted. "Like what?" he asked.

"Geography, the currency, the history of the world, the state of the government. And, when I would answer one, yet another question would come up. For instance, when I was explaining the role of the World Government in our world, the boy, Naruto, interrupted and asked who the Pirate King is!"

It was clear to Nekomamushi that Pedro believed everything he'd experienced was genuine.

"That is odd," he agreed, "But go on."

Pedro took a moment to recall what he'd been saying prior to the Master's interruption.

"Towards the end of our discussion, I mentioned that the Celestial Dragons still allow slavery. All three of the great animals reacted with anger and disgust. Until that point, Naruto was the only one among them that I could read. It is clear that their group has their own experiences with slavery."

Nekomamushi's eyes gained a faraway look. Despite both his and Inuarashi's best effort, slavery was still something that plagued their kind. Every once in a while, despite knowing the risks, Minks would leave Zou in search of their own adventures, like Pedro did. And Minks were a commodity among the Celestial Dragons, much like Mermaids. Every one of them that left Zou had a target on their back.

"They spoke amongst themselves after that, though I was present for it. Naruto, if his words are to be believed, said that he'd promised to bring peace to the world"

"I've heard that one from quite a few unsavory individuals," Pedro didn't acknowledge Nekomamushi's biting statement, and continued on.

"Then he said that he wasn't afraid to become a criminal to oppose the very government that was standing in the way of peace," that stopped the Master's thoughts I their tracks. "Everything he said, the way that he interacted with the others… it reminded me of our allies."

People like their allies were rare in their world. Edward Newgate, may he rest in peace, was a great man, and his crew held his ideals close to their chests. They were the rare kinds of pirate that didn't murder and pillage wherever they could, but instead fought for their family and for what they believed to be right. If Pedro was making that comparison, he wasn't doing so lightly. It was no secret that the man held great respect for the Yonko and his crew. It was a respect that was shared by every Mink in Zou.

"Are you sure of your assessment, Pedro?" Nekomamushi asked.

Pedro nodded. "I'm as sure as I can be after a single conversation. I believe that these are good people."

"I will have to meet them, but I will take what you've said into consideration. This is a lot to think about," he said. "I should be chasing these outsiders off," he moaned, "not considering their character!"

"There is one more thing that you should know, Master Nekomamushi," Pedro said.

"Oh? Even more? This should be good."

"Isobu, the turtle, said something to the blond one. Naruto asked him what he wanted to do, and he said that, if we allowed it, he would want to stay here," Pedro confessed. "I know it is not my place, but from what the Yonbi said, they are used to being hunted. I think that we should offer them asylum."

Pedro had a lot of faith in them. Nekomamushi was definitely anticipating his visit now. "I will not promise anything, Pedro," he said, "I can tell that you like these strangers, but we must put the wellbeing of Zou above the wellbeing of those that won't even tell us their true names."

Pedro nodded.

"That being said, I will surely take your own opinions into account when I meet them."

"Will you be going now?" Pedro asked.

"I should, before I run out of time. We only have a few more hours until the switch." He and his Guardians protected and ruled Zou from sundown to sunup. Duke Inuarashi and his Musketeer squad did so for the rest of the day.

Nekomamushi knew where the strangers were staying. He stood from his position, acknowledged the 'sir' that Pedro threw him, and began travelling in their direction.

* * *

Naruto and Kurama were the only two awake at their basecamp. The Bijuu, Kurama included, were still exhausted from their trip. Bijuu, despite being massive Chakra entities, still needed, and _liked,_ to sleep. Even Gaara was unconscious. He'd been hesitant at first, but Naruto convinced him that the alterations he'd made his seal would let him sleep peacefully.

The two were talking quietly, though Kurama's permanently loud voice still boomed like the footfalls of a giant. They felt Master Nekomamushi approach before they saw him. As one of the most powerful individuals on the island, his presence was hard to miss.

When the Mink came upon the edge of the clearing, he was promptly 'shushed' and gestured at by Naruto, who presumably wanted to talk to him.

Slightly disgruntled at being treated so disrespectfully, he made his way over.

Quietly, the teenager asked, "So you're the Master Mushy that Pedro mentioned?"

A massive tail smacked him face-first into the ground. "**It's Nekomamushi, dumbass**."

"Thank you, Kyuubi," Nekomamushi said. He'd been about to correct the blond himself. "Yes, boy. Most know me as Master Nekomamushi. I am Duke Inuarashi's nighttime counterpart, the other ruler of this land."

"Why are there two of you?" Naruto asked. "Oh, I almost forgot! I'm Naruto! Naruto Uzumaki, Ninja of the-," he cut off, and coughed violently. "Gah! There's hair in my mouth, asshole!" he shouted, and heaved the tail off of his back.

Master Nekomamushi waited for the… ninja… to scramble to his feet. "I've spoken with Pedro. He seems to believe that your group is a good one, and that we can trust you in our lands."

"Sweet!" the blond brightened up. "I'll have to thank him next time I see him!"

It was clear to Nekomamushi the reason that Pedro trusted his first impression of the whiskered teen in front of him. He was incredibly easy to read, it seemed, and he was very easy to talk to. What had Nekomamushi worried, however, was the boy's stated profession. If he really is the Ninja he's claimed to be, he'd be a master of his expressions, a peerless actor. It was entirely possible that Nekomamushi was being fooled even now.

"**I can see it in your eyes. You are suspicious of us**." The Kyuubi spoke up. Nekomamushi turned to face the fox, looking up into one of its giant red eyes. Eyes that were slightly larger than the Mink himself.

The Mink would not be intimidated. "I have every right to be. Your companion claims to be a ninja. You provide us with names that are not your own. You enter our lands without our permission," the Master says, "And, I've just learned that you wish to stay indefinitely."

"Uh, old man?" Naruto interjected. "Kyuubi and I actually don't want to stay here. It's the others that were gonna ask you."

"**Naruto, don't make me hit you again**."

"What? Why? It's true, the others just want a safe place to live. You and I are gonna go on an adventure!" his eyes gleamed.

"I see. You want us Minks to protect your companions while you two spend your days having 'fun'?" he asked icily, emphasizing 'fun'.

"What?" Naruto looked at him, the confusion clear if not in his voice then definitely in his sole visible eye. "Nah, you don't have to protect them. They can protect themselves just fine!" he declared.

"Then why would they want to hide here?" Nekomamushi asked. It made no sense. Everyone wanted something from the Minks when they made contact. Not even Whitebeard was exempt from that, the man had demanded an alliance. Granted, it had been something that they both wanted and needed, but the man still took advantage of it when the opportunity presented itself.

"**Quiet, brat. Let me explain**," one of the tails grabbed Naruto and deposited him upon the fox's head. The blond quickly got comfortable and waited for the Bijuu to begin.

"**My siblings and I are immensely powerful**," he began. "**Powerful likely beyond your comprehension**."

"I've been around," Nekomamushi challenged.

Kurama maintained his eye contact. "**Given a few minutes, I alone would have little difficulty bringing this being we are sitting upon to its knees**." The co-ruler of Zou shifted warily at that admission. If true, they were in a tight spot. "**Although I am by far the most powerful of us, my siblings have similar capabilities. Every one of them could do the same. And I don't believe that anything in this land could stop them**."

"Then why do you need our permission? Why are you running if you are so powerful?"

"**I am **_**not**_** running**," the fox hissed. It was a terrifying noise, and Nekomamushi learned that it was not a wise decision to insult the fox. "**I do not run. You heard Naruto say that he and I will be leaving regardless. There is little that I fear**."

Master Nekomushina looked like he wanted to interject, but Kurama continued on.

"**We started off as peaceful beings. As I saw more and more of what humanity was capable of, I grew to despise them, to squash them at every opportunity that I had."**

"He's not like that anymore, 'cause I'm just that great!" Naruto called from atop Kurama's head.

Kurama rolled his eyes. "**He's right. Although I may not like humans, it is hard to detest the whole species when my only friend is one.**"

"What does any of this have to do with your siblings staying on my island?"

"**Be patient**," Kurama commanded. "**Before I was interrupted, I was recalling our origins**."

"**Due to my violence, the villages within our country searched for ways to contain me. After hundreds of years," **_hundreds?_** "they succeeded. However, they didn't stop with me. All of my siblings, despite being gentle and peaceful unless attacked, were captured with the intent to be used as weapons of war. We were enslaved to humans in this way for over a hundred years and forced to fight each other, all because of me**."

"**Eventually, Naruto and I came up with a plan to free us and escape our country. The technique deposited us here, it just so happens that this place could be the perfect refuge for my siblings. And**," Kurama narrowed his eyes at the ruler of Zou, "**I will see them safe**."

Master Nekomushina finally understood where the group stood. They were fleeing enslavement and only in search of peaceful lives, for the most part. If the world government were to get wind of them, they would be hunted endlessly, worse than before, because there was little one could do to hide from such an organization. It was incredible that their civilization had remained separate from the rest of the world up to this point, but now the group was going to be hiding from a much larger power.

"I believe that we should allow them to stay."

Master Nekomushina whipped around. He hadn't heard that voice in a long time, and for good reason. He bared his fangs at Duke Inuarashi.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Inuarashi?" he growled.

The dog Mink growled back. "Helping my co-ruler make the the most important decision we have ever been faced with as Zou's rulers."

"Wait!" a voice interrupted the tense moment. "I though he wasn't supposed to be out right now?" Naruto shouted down at them.

"He's not. It is night time, _my time._ He should leave." Nekomushina said darkly.

"**No, he shouldn't**," Kurama interjected, "**If a decision is going to be made, it should be made with the two rulers of Zou present**."

"That is why I decided to come, Nekomamushi," Inuarashi said, seriously. He'd lost all evidence of annoyance, as he was trying to make civil conversation with his partner.

"We will be settling this later, but for now, you are right." Nekomushina said. "I agree, for the record." He nodded at Duke Inuarashi.

He turned back to to Kurama. "You heard. I have no objection to Zou becoming the home to your siblings."

"Gaara, too?" Naruto asked.

"…Yes," he said, pained. It was one thing to let a family of animals live among them, but Gaara is human. But for what he was about to ask, he would have to make such sacrifices. "But I have one request. Or rather, condition." Duke Inuarashi.

"**Name your price then, Lion**." Kurama said imperiously. He was really laying it on thick for the Minks, Naruto thought.

"I ask that your siblings lend us their aid if we come under attack, for as long as they live here. The Minks are also targets of slavers, and one day, the Duke and I may not be enough to hold them off."

Naruto smiled at the request.

"**You will have to ask them when they wake. However, I do not see them denying their own home their protection**."

"Oh, shush, Kurama. You know they'll say 'yes'," Naruto said, still smiling. I don't think I've seen any of them look so comfortable, even in your memories!"

"We will wait to make a final decision, then," said Inuarashi. "Would you like to learn more of this sea in the meantime?"

* * *

"He really bent the space around him with just his speed? That's incredible! Are you sure he didn't have a devil fruit?"

Inuarashi nodded in agreement with his counterpart. "I can't believe that that attack wasn't enough to fell his opponent. The foe must have had incredible Haki."

Kurama looked piercingly at the dog Mink. "**I was silent before, but this is the third time that you've mentioned it since Naruto began his story. What is Haki?"** He asked.

That threw the Minks for a loop. "You mean you don't know?" Nekomamushi cut in. "It sounded like much of what you were describing could be explained by Haki."

Kurama shook his head. "**Our country was… rather isolated. Perhaps we just have a different name for it**?" it was better to let no one, not even the Minks, know of their origin.

They nodded. That would make sense. Many of the more remote islands, further into the Grand Line and the New World had their own terminology.

"Well," Inuarashi began, "What we call Haki is a group of abilities that can be used only by the more powerful individuals in our world."

"Haki is the manifestation of one's willpower, their drive," Nekomamushi said, "Your 'Madara' sounded like he was using an advanced form of Kenbunshoku, or 'Observation' Haki, which can allow us to sense the presence of those around us and even predict our opponent's moves."

"Stop interrupting me when I'm talking, Pussycat!" shouted Inuarashi.

"Then stop speaking like a sloth, Mutt!" Nekomamushi yelled back.

The two butted heads, literally, growling at each other.

Naruto and Kurama, from their place on the sidelines of the confrontation, were both feeling a weird sense of déjà vu.

"Could you wait 'til after your explanation to fight?" Naruto asked.

The two quickly sprang apart and smoothed their expressions, looking for all intents and purposes as if they hadn't been seconds away from ripping each other apart.

"As I-,"

"As I was saying," Nekomamushi interrupted Inuarashi before he could begin, "the next type of Haki is Busoshoku, or 'Armament' Haki. It sounded as though Might Guy was using this to augment his physical capabilities."

Inuarashi, as revenge for being cut off again, interjected. "If one masters Busoshoku Haki, they can use it as an armor to protect them from attacks, provided that their mastery of it is greater than their opponents. It can also be used offensively, and to damage those with Logia-type Devil Fruits, who would ordinarily be untouchable."

Kurama nodded. This was useful information. Pedro had told them of Devil Fruits, and he'd wondered how they were to combat an enemy with a Logia, if normal attacks didn't work on them. He and Naruto's pure chakra attacks may have an effect, but it was better to be sure than to go into a fight unprepared.

"The final," Inuarashi said, glaring at his co-ruler, "Is Haoshoku Haki. There isn't much known about Conqueror's Haki other than it only appears once in every couple million people. It is said that whoever can use it possesses the qualities of a king."

"That's a very vague explanation," Naruto laughed.

"As I said, there's not much known about it. However, its rarity and power makes it dangerous, and the World Government either tries to possess those who show it, or eliminate them," answered the dog, a sneer upon his canine features.

"Somehow, it all comes back to them, doesn't it?" Naruto asked.

"Although there are good marines that try their best to fight for Justice, they are controlled by a rotten organization," Inuarashi agreed.

"**Would you**," Kurama interposed, "**be capable of teaching us any of this 'Haki'**?"

The pair was silent for a moment. Suddenly, a very depressed aura overtook Nekomamushi.

"You see…" Inuarashi started.

"Well, we don't exactly know how to explain it," he said. "We weren't taught, we just learned it from years of fighting strong enemies!"

"We've been trying for years to teach it to the rest of the Minks," Nekomamushi mumbled, "But we can't exactly put our own subjects in life-or-death situations to learn it, can we?"

"If you want to learn Haki," Inuarashi advised, "You're better off searching for a real teacher once you leave."

The ground vibrated softly. The rest of the Bijuu began stirring, the morning light waking them.

"Looks like our talk is over!" Naruto declared cheerfully. The group of four made their way over to the other, waking, occupants of the clearing.

* * *

As you can see, I just sorta… enter scenes halfway through. Writing the entire conversations would be pointless and boring. And I can't exactly write a multiple-hour-long conversation. This is a style I'll use a lot. The most important things won't be skipped through like that, like fights and what-have-you, but no matter how much I like to write, I can't sit down and create a 48 page dialogue explaining the history of the One Piece world.


	5. Chapter Five

Keep in mind that this is _not_ a wish fulfillment fic. Naruto is powerful, yes, but he's not just hopping in and fixing the world's problems with a wave of his hand. That's boring and over-saturated.

I'll let you in on a little secret: I never finished Shippūden(_shh_). In fact, I didn't even come close. I delete my A/N's regularly, but I've stated before that this Naruto is **not** the same as canon Naruto. The 4th Ninja War went differently, Naruto was still fighting in it when he was 18 and thrown back in time. So there will be many things about him that do not match canon.

* * *

"So, where would I go about finding a ship big enough for the both of us?" Naruto, gesturing to himself and Kurama, who was speaking to his siblings, asked Pedro.

The Bijuu had settled into their new home. While the back of Zunisha wasn't nearly as spacious as the Elemental Nations, the freedom they could experience among the Minks was well worth the downsizing. Yesterday, Duke Inuarashi and Master Nekomushina introduced their group to the villagers, who welcomed them with open arms. They wouldn't live inside the city, it wasn't large enough, but that didn't mean that they had to isolate themselves anymore.

Gaara, too, was staying outside of the city. While Naruto's 'talk' with Shukaku and the alterations he'd made to the seal freed Gaara from much of his burden, he still didn't feel comfortable staying among so many others. _Eventually_, he'd told Naruto, he believed that he would want to move there, but not until he was sure that he had absolute control over himself.

"That is a difficult question," Pedro responded. "If it were you and another human, there wouldn't be any issue finding a ship. But, Kyuubi by himself is larger than most ships I've ever seen."

"Most ships?" Naruto asked. He knew that it would be difficult to house Kurama, but he'd hoped that, with beings as large as the elephant they were living upon, other things in this world would be similarly massive.

"I can think of three that could fit him, though even two of those may have difficulty with his weight," Pedro said, "And none of them… are available."

"Where are they? Who do they belong to?" Naruto asked.

Pedro answered hesitantly. "The first that comes to mind is the Moby Dick. It belonged to Whitebeard, our ally, and after the battle at Marineford, his crew vanished along with it."

Naruto had been told of Whitebeard. The massive, twenty-foot-tall man that had ruled his section of the seas alongside the other three Yonko. The supposed 'strongest man in the world'. Despite all of his strength, he hadn't lorded it over anyone, using his power to protect, instead, and to amass a family in the form of his crew. Naruto would have liked to meet him.

"The second belongs to Big Mom."

"Ah." Naruto said. That one was definitely off limits. He'd also been told of her, though she hadn't been sung praise as Edward Newgate had. He didn't think he'd want to meet an enormous, unstable cannibal any time soon. "I see."

"You understand now why these ships aren't available," Pedro said simply.

"Yep," Naruto nodded. "But what about the last one?"

"The last one," Pedro answered, "I think you have even less chance with. I saw it years ago when my crew visited Fish-Man Island, 10,000 meters under the sea."

"Fish-man?" Naruto interrupted.

"A species similar to us Minks," Pedro clarified. "When I visited, there was a ship larger than and other I'd seen before, or since."

"Stop." Naruto said, holding up his hand. "It doesn't matter, I guess. I can't do anything with a ship sitting on the floor of the ocean." The Mink agreed.

"Naruto," Pedro said, "I may have been a pirate, but I haven't been off of Zou in years. I believe that your best option is going out in search, yourself."

"But where would I even start? I hardly know anything about this place!"

Pedro sighed. The kid was adamant about leaving today, but had yet to even learn how to navigate the ocean.

"If you are serious about leaving so soon, I can gift you something that will help you start off," Pedro said.

Naruto's visible eye shined. "Really? Thanks Pedro, you're a lifesaver!" he declared, without knowing what it was that Pedro was offering him.

"I have to retrieve it, first. Meet me at the entrance gate when you are ready to depart," Pedro told Naruto. Naruto nodded, and with that, Pedro disappeared into the trees, in the direction of the city.

The blond turned to the others in the clearing. The eight free Bijuu were talking, though it sounded like they were arguing, as usual, and Gaara was standing, awkwardly, off to the side. Naruto approached the red haired boy, who looked up when he was near.

"You understand, right, Gaara?" Naruto asked the boy, sure that he would know what Naruto was speaking of. Gaara initially wanted to come with him, as he held Naruto in high regard for taking him from the ninja world, and even more so since he'd fixed his seal, but Naruto refused.

"Yes, Naruto," Gaara said quietly.

"Gaara," Naruto said sternly, "I've told you; you're like a brick wall to me. If you don't say what is on your mind, I won't be able to guess."

His Gaara had been far more open than this one. He hadn't known Gaara when he was this young, he'd only met him a few times. Naruto was much more used to the Gaara that smiled and spoke his mind than the Gaara that hid it all behind his sand armor.

The boy blinked, a sign of recognition from him. "I understand, Naruto," he said, "I am only worried."

"About what?"

"What if the new seal fails while you're gone and I kill all of the Minks? What if he won't let me sleep, and you're not around to fix it? What if I'm not able to be as good as you hope?"

That was the most Naruto had heard the boy say at once since he'd met him this time around. It was also incredibly enlightening. Naruto smiled softly.

"Kid," he started, and Gaara almost-pouted, "That you're worried about what I think of you shows that you're already doing better than you were two weeks ago. I believe in you."

Gaara looked at his feet in embarrassment.

"And, hey," he added, "so what if you don't turn out perfectly well behaved. I'm gonna be a pirate, it's not like I have any room to be upset!" Naruto chuckled, and reached out to ruffle the Jinchuriki's hair. His automatic defense didn't intercept Naruto's hand.

"If you're really so worried about it, take this." Naruto held out his hand.

Gaara took the item from the blond's grasp, and inspected it within his own hand. It appeared to be a tri-bladed kunai. While non-standard, it wasn't so interesting that Gaara could discern a special use for it. He peered up at Naruto dubiously.

Naruto grinned mischievously at him. "Take off the binding," he suggested.

Gaara did so, and his eyes narrowed in confusion at what he was faced with. Engraved on the handle of the kunai, hidden by the bindings, were what appeared to be extremely complicated, miniaturized seals. Gaara, for the life of him, couldn't figure out any of their purposes. He re-bound the blade.

"Throw it!" Naruto said excitedly, and Gaara looked up from the kunai to see him bouncing from one foot to the other.

At the elder's behest, he half-heartedly tossed the knife at a tree on the edges of the clearing. He'd never been the greatest with thrown weapons, and the tri-blade kunai was heavier than what he was used to. For a moment, he was worried that it wouldn't stick. Suddenly, in a move that his mind couldn't quite comprehend, Naruto was no longer standing beside him. He looked around only to see the blond standing halfway between Gaara and his target, holding the knife by its handle.

"That was… the Fourth Hokage's _Hiraishin_?" Gaara asked, inwardly amazed. While he had never seen the technique in person before, there were a limited number of abilities it could be. He hadn't detected the Chakra use that accompanied a _Shunshin_, and the blond hadn't switched with the knife, either. Naruto had simultaneously, seamlessly, disappeared and reappeared, in a way that he was still having difficulty wrapping his head around.

"Yeah!" Naruto bragged as he walked back towards the young teenager. "I learned it a long time ago, but since I've been sealed up, I haven't gotten too much practice with it."

The _Hiraishin_ was how he'd prepared for the departure so quickly. Otherwise, he would have spent months traveling back and forth from all of the places he'd needed to visit. Thankfully, with the help of his father, they'd cut the time down dramatically. However, he still hadn't had battle practice with it for over thirteen years, since before he and Kurama had been forcefully removed from their own time.

"As long as I'm not too far away, I should be able to make it back to you," Naruto said. "So if you're having trouble, just channel your Chakra into the blade, and I'll know!"

While he could theoretically use any of the markers at will, it helped if he knew a location rather than going in blind. Since Zou was constantly moving, it would be best if Gaara channeled his Chakra directly into the blade rather than just throwing it so that he could feel it's general direction. And, this way, he'd know that it was serious, rather than Gaara just dropping the knife on accident.

"I mean it." Naruto said seriously, at Gaara's lack of response. "If you are in any sort of trouble, and you think that I can help, don't hesitate. I may not be able to come immediately, but I'll get there as fast as I can!"

Gaara nodded. "Okay," he said plainly.

Naruto sighed at the kid's apparent apathy. "One of these days, Gaara…" he trailed off.

"**Are you two done**?" A loud, growling voice asked.

Without turning around, Naruto rolled his eye conspiratorially at Gaara and said, "Yeah, fox, we're done. I've been waiting on your sappy ass this whole time!"

The Bijuu didn't rise to the bait. "**Then let's go**."

"Too awkward to stick around after goodbyes, huh, bastard?" Naruto teased.

"**Shut up**," Kurama said.

"When will you be back?" Gaara interrupted.

Naruto looked knowingly at the red head. "It should only be a few months at most, Gaara," he answered. "But I told you, if you need anything at all, I'll be here."

He smiled warmly at Gaara and, for a split-second, he was almost positive that he could make out a faint hint of embarrassment penetrating his sand armor. Without warning, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the short boy, lifting him off the ground in a tight hug.

Gaara wasn't sure how to react. He knew what a hug was, but hadn't any memories of ever experiencing one himself. So, he let himself hang limply in the man's grasp and waited for it to end.

Naruto set the Jinchuriki back on the ground and shook his head fondly. "Oh well," he said, smiling. "you'll get there."

Gaara wasn't sure where 'there' was, or if he would ever get to it, but with Naruto believing in him, he felt that he had to at least try. And the man just told him that he didn't have to be perfect, so even if he messed up a little, he'd still be accepted! He smiled a bit, though it was hardly discernable through his armor.

"I gotta go, Gaara," Naruto said, "I'll be seeing you, okay?"

"Okay, Naruto," Gaara responded. "Goodbye."

The blond climbed onto the Kyuubi's head, a familiar ritual to those present.

"Don't forget!" Naruto called back to Gaara as the Bijuu padded his way out of the clearing. "Don't hesitate!"

As the duo disappeared, Gaara turned to the seven others in the clearing. They'd been watching the over-the-top goodbye that Naruto'd left him with.

"Shukaku told me to go make a house." he said, not commenting on what had just happened. Without waiting to be acknowledged, he turned and left, heading to where Zou's rulers had told him he could build. Most of the Bijuu, familiar with their 'youngest' sibling's antics, immediately followed, wanting to see what would come of it. One, though, headed in the direction of Naruto and Kurama.

* * *

Pedro, like he said he would be, was waiting for them at the large entrance gate. There were a few other guards there, but with Pedro present, they didn't pay much mind to Naruto or Kurama beyond the typical stare that Kurama received everywhere he went due to his size.

"Pedro!" Naruto called out from atop Kurama's head. He leapt down to meet the jaguar Mink.

"Naruto, Kyuubi," Pedro greeted. "Are you prepared to depart?" he asked.

Naruto took an obligatory glance around before he responded.

"We just left the others," Naruto said in affirmation.

The ex-pirate reached into his shirt pocket and withdrew an item shaped like a watch.

"Do you recall the mention I made of Log Poses?" he asked.

Naruto thought for a moment. "They're special compasses, right? That work in the New World and Grand Line?"

"You could think of them that way," the Mink said, "though the New World Log Poses are slightly more complicated, they work the same as the Grand Line's."

"It has something to do with an island's magnetic field, yeah?" Naruto asked.

"I never was a navigator, so I only have a basic understanding of Log Poses," Pedro explained, "But, yes, they are connected to magnetic fields. This one, however, is an 'Eternal Log Pose'."

"I think I can guess, but what exactly is that?"

"An Eternal Log Pose is a Log Pose that is set to point towards a specific island. This," he pointed to the front dial on the Log Pose, between the other two, "is set to a certain part of the Red Line, Mary Geoise. However, it is the island on the immediate other side of the continent that you should visit, Saboady Archipelago. I think that you would have more luck gathering information there than anywhere else in this sea," he finished.

"**The last stop in the Grand Line?"** Kurama rumbled.

"Technically. The Archipelago is the best place to start off for New World inhabitants. Us Minks avoid it, though. It's one of the few places in the world in which slavery is still permitted."

That's why Naruto recognized the name of the island! He'd been so focused on the depravity of the Celestial Dragons that he'd forgotten the name of the island which they frequented.

"I'm all for it," Naruto said abruptly.

"**Brat**," Kurama warned, "**That will not be the best place for m**e."

Naruto winced. Negative emotion sensing, he'd forgotten for a moment. But, the prospect of the island was too much to pass up on. If they could find a ship, or discover where they could possibly acquire a ship for the both of them, it was worth the risk.

"Everywhere else in this sea is under someone's control," he said, "We have to. I can go into the city alone while you wait outside?" Naruto suggested.

"**I understand the necessity, but I don't like it. I won't be held accountable for my actions,"** the Bijuu growled.

"Don't worry, fox. If it's really that bad, we'll figure something else out," Naruto chirped.

Pedro looked back and forth between the two of them. The two were sure of themselves, that much was evident. He could only hope that they would be up to the challenge the New World provided.

"Our sea is cut off from the Grand Line by the Red Line. You will have to go through the Red Port at Mary Geoise to pass through." Despite part of the thrill of traversing the sea being the surprises at every turn, Pedro felt that he should warn the duo of what they would likely see at Mary Geoise.

"The number of slaves there far exceeds Saboady Archipelago," he said. "There are hundreds and thousands of them to keep the passage operational."

"**I am liking this place less and less,"** Kurama muttered.

"Me too," Naruto said. "But we'll change it, no matter how long it takes. You know nothing can stop us!" he cheered.

Kurama stared at Naruto. "**You're so awkward**," he finally said, in mock shame.

"Shut it!" Naruto shouted. "I'm not awkward, you are! Everyone has to look straight up to talk to you, idiot!"

"**It is not my fault that you are all so tiny," **Kurama taunted.

"Tiny-," Naruto stuttered, "I'll show you tiny!"

"Aah, Naruto?" Pedro cut in. "I have to get back to the forest," he held out the Log Pose. Naruto took it from his outstretched hand and latched it onto his wrist.

"I'll watch for your bounties," the jaguar called out as he departed from Zou's entrance.

"Thanks, Pedro!" Naruto waved to the Mink. And then, more quietly, "I wonder why he didn't give us a Log Pose directly to this Sabindy Archipole place?"

Kurama ignored the idiot and waited until Pedro was out of view before he turned and said to the forest, "**You can stop hiding, brother." **

** "I wasn't trying to hide; I was waiting for that one to leave." **The Hachibi, Gyuki, defended.

"**We've already said our goodbyes. What is it that you want?"** Kurama asked grumpily.

"Oh, shush, Kurama," Naruto chided, "let him talk."

He'd noticed the Bijuu waiting in the outskirts of the forest before he'd even arrived, but was content to wait until he came to them.

"**Hmph**," Kurama pouted, rolling his eyes.

Gyuki chuckled at the ease in which Naruto had put his 'eldest' brother in place.

"**I will not hold the two of you up for longer than I have to, but I must speak my piece**," the Hachibi started. Naruto looked up at him expectantly, while Kurama stood to the side, pretending to be uninterested. "**Despite what most of our siblings think of this new paradise, I don't feel the same. I… was never the most calm of us, and the last few years with – with my last host**," the Bijuu fumbled over the topic of Killer Bee, "**I've grown even more fond of battle**."

"I understand," Naruto said solemnly. "You don't have to stay here, you know? You can come with us, or even go on your own!" While Naruto would rather the Bijuu wait for him to bring information back to start branching off on their own, he wasn't going to try to control them. That wasn't something that any of them wanted.

"**I can not**," Gyuki shook his massive head. "**Someone has to protect our siblings until you return. When you've gathered your… information, and our siblings know enough to be safe, I may accompany you." **

Naruto was touched at the display. Most of the Bijuu were emotionally stunted; lacking any contact for centuries tended to do that to you. Kurama and Gyuki, however, both had good relationships with their most recent Jinchuriki, and as such, were more prone to outwardly displaying their feelings as Gyuki had just done.

"**Disgusting**," Kurama said, though both Naruto and Gyuki could tell that he was faking.

"Gaara has a way of contacting me," Naruto said, addressing the Hachibi. "If you need me for anything, ask him."

Gyuki nodded. "**We should be fine for a few months.** **But no longer, got it**?" he asked aggressively.

"Yeah!" Naruto said enthusiastically, unaffected by the Ox's attitude. "A few months is plenty of time for us, isn't it Kurama!"

"**Yes, brat**," Kurama said, his tone making it clear that he wanted to depart immediately. He was very bad at handling familial matters, something that both Naruto and his siblings knew quite well.

"Gyuki?" Naruto asked, hesitantly.

"**Yes**?"

"I'm sorry about Bee."

Gyuki stared hard at Naruto for a few agonizing seconds.

"**It was not your fault, Naruto**."

He departed, retreating into the forest to rejoin his siblings, and Naruto and Kurama began their journey away from the moving island of Zou.

* * *

"**I refuse**."

"But it's pretty big, you wouldn't even have to be that much smaller than you were before!" Naruto whined.

"**I've only been unsealed in this form for a few months. I'm not lowering myself any more than I have to!**" Kurama turned from Naruto and stuck his nose up into the air in contempt.

"Such a diva…" the ninja muttered, much to Kurama's outrage, looking mournfully at the ship floating in the water ahead of them.

They had only been traveling, or running, rather, on the water for a day and a half before being spotted by what turned out to be a pirate crew. The entire crew had been easily dealt with by the blond, even the captain. The man was pathetically weak, despite all his claims of sailing under one of the Yonko. His pink facial hair hadn't been terribly intimidating, either.

"**Naruto**," Kurama said slyly, "**You promised that we would get a ship large enough to house both of us. Are you going back on your word**?"

"That's low, bastard," Naruto sulked. "You know I'm not. I'm just tired of all this water walking."

Kurama agreed. After the first few hours, his fur began to feel like it was permanently plastered to him, despite being made from Chakra. Even though they could walk on water, they couldn't stop the ocean's spray from coating them in its moisture.

"**If we can't find one here, I **_**guess**_** we'll just be forced to take that Yonko, Big Mom's,**" Kurama said casually.

Naruto stopped and pointed at the Bijuu accusingly. "You just want to fight one of the strongest people around! You're not sneaky!"

"**Please, it's not like you didn't think of it." **Kurama scoffed.** "I saw that look in your eye when the Mink mentioned who those ships belong to!"**

"Yeah? Well at least _I _know better than to go off and fight against some mystery power!" Naruto argued back.

"**That's a bunch of bullshit and you know it, brat. That's all you've done since you were twelve**!" the fox accused. "**Hell, you could barely spell Chakra until you were fifteen**!"

The pair resumed their journey, leaving behind the unconscious Pinkbeard Pirates on their ship.

"You said you wouldn't bring that up! It was like, fifteen years ago!"

"**I said I wouldn't bring it up in front of anyone else, idiot. I never said I wouldn't make fun of you for it**."

Naruto pouted. He knew that, of course, he had just been hoping that Kurama would have forgotten by now. And, he hated being the one to lose their arguments.

* * *

They ran into the night, the Red Line quickly making itself known, until finally, just after midnight, Kurama slowed to a stop.

"**Naruto**," he growled. "**Can you sense it yet**?"

The pair was a few miles out from the Red Line and, presumably, Mary Geoise. Despite being a better-than-average sensor, Naruto's range was still nowhere near that vast.

"What are you feeling, Kurama?" he asked. There wasn't much that could bring the Bijuu to a halt like this.

"**An overwhelming amount of hate**," he began reluctantly. "**The negativity is palpable. It is… foul**."

Zou was completely free of the feeling, and Kurama had gotten slightly used to it. While proficient in combat, none of them actively held on to such emotions. The Pinkbeard Pirates, despite being obviously malevolent, had barely registered as a blip to him. This, however, was something else. The duo was miles away, and Kurama was able to clearly feel the massive amount of hate, anger, and loathing that lay ahead of them.

"**I do not think that I will be able to control myself if we take this path, Naruto,**" the Bijuu warned.

"But-," Naruto protested, "Ah, never mind. You're right. We don't even have to go that way; I wasn't expecting the Red Line to be… this."

The only continent in this world, the Red Line, was more similar to Pedro's descriptions than Naruto originally believed it would be. He'd pictured an actual continent, similar to his home nation, jutting out of the ocean. Not the gargantuan, vertical rock wall that he was seeing now. It resembled the flat parts of Hokage Mountain, on an exponentially larger scale.

It was its shape that made it less of an obstacle for the duo. It was considered insurmountable to the normal inhabitants of the world, so beyond Mary Geoise, there were hardly any defenses atop the barrier except in select locations, which meant that Naruto and Kurama would have no trouble simply walking over the continent and continuing on to the other side.

"If you really think so, we'll just go over here." Naruto assured the Bijuu. "Sub- Sabi-," Naruto coughed, "_Saboady_ Archipelago is on the other side, so it's not a big deal."

"**That would be for the best,"** Kurama agreed, and they resumed their trek.

* * *

The trip up the red line was peaceful. Naruto, since he was a child, had always liked heights. In the forests of _Konohagakure no Sato, _he'd loved climbing the massive trees planted by the First Hokage, and that love only grew when he learned how to use his Chakra to climb them more easily. His love for heights was even reflected in his favorite spot in the village, the top of the Hokage Mountain. It was something that Naruto didn't think would ever leave him.

The Red Line was no different, even if it was hundreds of times taller than what he was used to.

When they reached the top, they were standing among the clouds. It was incredible. Besides Zou, he'd never experienced anything like it. And, on Zunisha, he couldn't exactly peer off the side to the same effect, rounded as the elephant is.

Kurama was far less impressed.

"**Why is everything in this world so damn big**?" he groused.

"C'mon, bastard. You feeling intimidated by a rock?"

"**It's not the rock that I'm intimidated by, brat. Look at you ninja for example, your village adapted quickly to that bastard Senju's forest. How would the people of this world adapted to monstrosities like this, and that who-knows-how-tall elephant**?"

"Oh, quiet about Zunisha, he's cool," Naruto scolded. "And we both already know that we would have no problem with him."

"**I know that you know what I mean, Naruto**," Kurama said, glancing at the blond to his side. "**I've lived in one place for so long, I'm finding it difficult adapting to another**."

Despite being each other's best friend, Naruto still occasionally forgot some key aspects of Kurama's life. He had been created nearly a thousand years ago. Naruto had only been with him for thirty of those years. The Bijuu's vast lifespan was an idea that Naruto, still, had yet to wrap his head around. Then again, since his own _conversion_, it was something that Naruto had been keen on avoiding as a topic of both conversation and thought. He could wait as long as he wanted, after all.

Naruto shook himself out of his quickly spiraling thoughts.

"It's going to take both of us a while to get used to this world," Naruto stated. "But this time, you're free to live how you want! And, you know that I'll always be with you."

Kurama hated when Naruto's sappy side started showing. For a while, it went so far as to give him the chills. Even now he wasn't terribly used to it, and still wasn't sure how to react to the blond's occasional declarations of 'friendship and happiness'.

So, he just grunted, which was all that Naruto needed to know that he'd been understood.

"Anyway, if this world really is so bad, we'll just leave again, neh?" Naruto asked. "Well, if this shitty eye will open up again." He ground his palm into his right eye.

"**Rubbing will just make it worse**," Kurama advised.

"I know that! Who are you, Sakura?" Naruto questioned indignantly.

"**That may be the best one you've come up with since we left, brat**," He bared his teeth at the blond. For anyone else, it would have been a menacing sight.

Naruto cut off their spat by pointing a finger past the fox. "You see that, Kurama?" he asked.

The Bijuu turned around, and got a view of what Naruto was pointing at. It also seemed to be part of the source of the negative emotions he could sense.

"**That is the largest human dwelling I've ever seen**," Kurama announced.

Though they had no way of verifying, the two were smart enough to infer that the building they were staring at was a part of Mary Geoise. It was obnoxiously extravagant, too large for any sort of rational human being to live in. Even from so far away, Kurama was sure that he could see the glint of what appeared to be gold, or some other similar precious metal, decorating the building.

"I want a better look, but I know that you can't get any closer," Naruto said. "We'll just have to come back later."

"**Acceptable. Perhaps by then I'll have gained more control over this stupid ability of mine,**" Kurama said, anger at his own inability shining through.

"If you can't, maybe I could create a seal to help?"

"**It's something that I should have done years ago, Naruto," **Kurama sighed.** "But if I am unable, I will accept your assistance.**"

Naruto nodded, and looked down at his wrist. The Log Pose was pointed directly ahead, in the direction of the mansion at which they were staring. Saboady Archipelago, Pedro said, was directly on the other side of the Red Line He started in that direction, Kurama falling in at his side.

They came upon the other side of the continent. As they peered over the side, they could see, a indeterminable distance away from the Red Line, what appeared to be an island covered in bubbles.

"Man, this place sure is weird," Naruto commented. "Bubble Island, who would have guessed?"

"**You know that's not its name, brat."** Kurama said condescendingly.

"Yeah, but it's a better one, I think," the boy responded sullenly. "Look, it's completely covered in the things!"

"**Saiken would love it**," Kurama murmured. Since his voice wasn't capable of even approaching 'quiet', Naruto still heard him.

"We'll bring him here, then! After we've done everything that we need to, that is..."

Kurama looked down at Naruto. "**I hope so, kit**."


	6. Chapter Six

Short, but I figured that a 10 page update after 3 days was good enough. Plus, the two most prominent characters I've introduced here are some of my favorite!

In my opinion, One Piece is one of the worlds most compatible with X-overs. Wonder why there aren't more?

* * *

"You're not waiting here."

"**I'm sure as hell not going over there, either!"**

"If you stay here, someone is going to see you, and you'll either get attacked, or reported to the Marines, and then attacked," Naruto said tiredly.

"**Let them come, then. That place is making me sick**."

Kurama had his feet deeply rooted in the… water, and was refusing to take another step.

"You've gotta get used to it eventually," Naruto said, "Who knows how much of this world is like this?"

"**What happened to your optimism, brat**?"

"It went out the window as soon as I realized how bad this is for you," Naruto replied. "This is worse than anything back home."

"**You'll let me stay, then, right**? The Bijuu almost begged.

"Nope!" Naruto said, popping the 'p' happily. Sure, it sucked for Kurama and all, but as a 1,000-year-old Chakra fox, he should have no trouble in situations like this!

"I do have an idea, though. You won't like it!"

"**Oh, do tell,"** Kurama said sarcastically.

"Where's the fun in 'telling'?" he asked cheekily. Kurama _really_ didn't like that tone of voice.

At that, he leapt up, high into the air and placed one glowing hand into his chest, his other slammed into the center of Kurama's forehead. The Bijuu had no time to react.

* * *

An hour later, Naruto found himself within the Hustle-Muscle mangroves of Saboady, staring up at the trunk of one of the massive trees. They were vertically striped green and light green and were far larger than any tree he'd ever seen before; the Forest of Death couldn't compare.

The one he was studying had the number '13' painted on its trunk with the letters 'GR' underneath. He'd seen a few trees painted this way, and assumed that they were used to map out the island.

Like most of the island he'd passed through thus far, the area was mostly empty, though he could sense a few presences nearby. Two were noticeably stronger than the rest. He looked in that direction and saw what appeared to be a small establishment, though he couldn't tell what kind, situated atop one of the colossal tree roots. Leading up to it from the ground was an oddly curved set of steps.

He headed that way and followed the staircase up to the front of the building, leading to a door with the words 'Shakky's Rip-Off Bar' above it. He chuckled. From the sounds coming from within, this would prove to be entertaining if nothing else.

He stepped forward to open the door, but quickly ducked, just in time. Two large men burst out of the building, flying all the way down the stairs to land, unconscious, on the earthen floor with a muffled 'thud'.

"Those are some good reflexes you've got," said a woman's voice from inside the, now identified, bar.

"I'm glad for them, too," Naruto replied, turning back to look through the now-open doors, "Otherwise I may have joined them down there."

The woman was plain enough, but she was also one of the two powerful presences that Naruto had identified minutes before. She had pitch black hair, two little tufts sticking upwards on the sides, and had a lit cigarette between the fingers of her left hand. She was very fit, her short shirt showing a small part of her stomach, and a large part of her cleavage. Any other man would have been caught staring, but Naruto was rather desensitized to it. She was wearing a golden bead necklace, and had a bored look in her eyes despite the fight she'd just been in.

"True enough," she shrugged. "I'm Shakky. This is my bar," she said plainly. "They were harassing another one of my customers, so I dealt with them."

"No judgment here," Naruto reassured, "It's your place, you do what you want."

"C'mon in, kid. I'll get over to you in a bit. Gotta deal with something first," Shakky waved him in.

Naruto nodded and walked in, taking a seat at the bar, ignoring the booths. He looked around. It was a rather plain place, there wasn't much in the way of decoration. A few certificates hung in frames against the back wall, and there was an occasional mirror hung up around the spacious room. There were several large windows spaced around the building equally.

The place wasn't exceptionally busy, but there were two full booths. One was filled by the kind of people Naruto would rarely look twice at, had they not clearly been part of the group in the other booth. Nondescript clothing, plain features. No presence.

The other was occupied by three people, including Shakky. The two men both looked to be over seven feet tall, huge by Naruto's standards, but, as he'd come to learn, around average by this world's. Or, if not average, then at least not uncommon. The one that Shakky was conversing with had long, spiky green hair, sharp protruding teeth, and a goofy look on his face that didn't match his overall intimidating appearance. More importantly, in Naruto's eyes, he was wearing an _orange_ coat. Clearly a man of taste. The coat was open and the man wasn't wearing a shirt underneath. From the angle he was at, Naruto was fairly certain that he could see a tattoo on his chest, but he wouldn't be able to guess what it was.

The other man appeared to be sleeping with his head down, and his light blond hair covered nearly the entire table.

Naruto took another glance about the room, and his eye fell on a series of posters plastered to the wall behind the bar that he'd previously overlooked. He leaned forward and squinted to get a better view, still not entirely used to having a single working eye. It appeared that they were all bounty posters, the first that he'd seen since coming to this world. The last he'd seen, his own bounty, back in his time when the system was still in operation, was sitting at around 440 million Ryo, depending on the country, but he didn't know how that compared to the Beli of this world.

The left most poster, Naruto thought, was adorable. The photo was of what looked to be a little raccoon dog… thing. It was wearing a red hat that covered its ears, and its tongue was lolling out of its mouth; it appeared to be staring at something delicious. Beneath the photo read the words, 'Wanted: Dead or Alive, 100 Beli'.

'_Who would ever want that little guy dead_?' Naruto thought to himself. '_And why?'_

The next poster in line was of a woman with orange hair and a tattoo on her shoulder. Oddly enough, Naruto thought that this person, 'Nami' as listed at the bottom of the poster, looked to be posing for the camera. Her bounty was 16 million Beli.

_'That's a hell of a lot more than 100 Beri'. _

Third in the row was an older photo of a man wearing red glasses, a black coat, and a top hat. He seemed to be pointing at someone, and the photo oh him appeared to have been taken mid-shout. To Naruto, he looked like some kind of musician. His, Brook's, bounty was double Nami's, at 33 million Beli.

Naruto skimmed over the next posters, memorizing the faces, names and numbers. And, boy, were there some weird ones. An individual wearing a long nosed mask, the drawn image of a man with the most ridiculous eyebrows Naruto had ever seen, and a blue-haired man with, somehow, a triply pointed chin.

While they were all interesting, the last two in the line were the ones that grabbed his attention the most. In the elemental nations, a ninja's professional photo was generally used in their Bingo Book entry. Here, that clearly wasn't the case. It seemed as though the photos were fairly telling about the pictured people's personalities, and he could gleam a lot from those last two.

One was of a green-haired man, though lighter than the man speaking with Shakky. He was pretty battered and dirty, clearly in a battle or having just finished one. His eyes were what drew Naruto's attention though; they were the eyes of someone with an indomitable will, that would only stop fighting for their purpose when they were buried six feet under. He took note of the name, Roronoa Zoro, and smiled. It was good to know that there were people like that in opposition to the World Government as well. He'd been sorely disappointed by the only pirate crew he'd come across so far. Zoro's bounty was 120 million Beli, a good deal higher than the previous posters.

The final poster held the highest bounty, and Naruto had a hard time matching the 400 million price tag to the face staring back at him. The grin on the boy's face seemed to take up the entire image. It was radiant. He looked to be fifteen or sixteen, though that smile could be throwing Naruto's estimates off, with shaggy black hair and a scar under his left eye. A plain straw hat was settled snugly on top of his head. His hand covered part of the photo, and it was roughly calloused, the sign of a very active individual. The was a bushy-haired person facing away from the camera in the background, and Naruto wondered if the two had some sort of connection.

"Luffy D. Monkey," he said out loud, testing the boy's name out. "Why would she have their bounties posted on her wall?"

As soon as he said the words he felt a dark bubble into existence. He turned in its direction and made eye contact with the green-haired man that was now glaring balefully at him. Now that he had turned, Naruto could see that he also had a golden nose ring. Next to him, Shakky was looking wide eyed at Naruto and making the universal 'stop' sign by subtly waving her hands at him.

Naruto opened his mouth to ask the man what his problem was, but was beaten to it.

"You got a problem with them, blondie?" he growled.

Naruto feigned looking around innocently. He pointed at his chest. "Me?" he asked.

"Who else, you're the one I'm looking at!" green-hair shouted.

"Well, I didn't know if you meant your friend lying next to you, y'know? Blondie doesn't really work when there's more than one of us here."

Naruto looked perfectly composed, but inwardly he was worried. While he was playing the carefree act, he really didn't want to be kicked out for fighting in the first place he'd come across. That would be a drag.

The man slammed his open palms on the table, and Shakky let out a defeated sigh, lowering her head into her hands. He stood up, and stalked over to Naruto, vaulting over the bar to stand next to the bounty posters.

"I was asking _you_," he said slowing, condescendingly, "if you had a problem with the Strawhats?" he gestured at the row of posters dramatically, the movement out of place for one of his looks.

Now Naruto was just confused. Apparently the individuals in the posters belonged to a single group known as the 'Strawhats', and, even more bewilderingly, green-hair somehow took offense at him saying their name out loud.

"Nope, no problem," Naruto placated, "I was just looking at their pictures. Haven't seen them before, you know?" Hopefully that would be enough to calm him down.

The man strutted forward, leaned over the bar, and stuck his face far too close to Naruto's for his liking, studying him. After a few moments of looking at Naruto's carefully composed expression, green-hair finally stepped back, seeming satisfied. And then, to Naruto's shock, his demeanor did a one-eighty.

"Why didn't you say so?" he asked brightly, all dopey-faced like he'd been while talking with Shakky. He leapt back over the bar, grabbed Naruto, stool and all, and dragged him over to the booth he'd been sitting at before. The other man was still out cold, leaving very little table room.

Naruto wasn't usually one to let himself be manhandled, but the man was suddenly acting like such a puppy that Naruto indulged him. That, and he hadn't sensed anything malicious from him, either.

"Sorry about him…?"

"Naruto," Naruto offered his name.

"Sorry about Bartolomeo, kid," Shakky said. Naruto twitched at her title for him. She'd asked his name and still not used it. "He gets a little excited when it comes to the Strawhats."

"Naruto, you said?" the man, Bartolomeo, asked him before he could respond to Shakky. "That's a weird one." Naruto bristled indignantly. "But hey," he continued, "I've heard weirder. This asshole's," he slapped the unconscious man on the back of the neck, "name is Gambia, after all." Gambia didn't stir.

"Right…" Naruto trailed off, not sure why he'd been brought over or how to continue the conversation with the strange man.

"Anyway!" Bartolomeo clapped his hands and sat up straight. "You said you didn't know the Strawhats?"

Naruto shook his head. "I'm out of the loop, I guess, where I'm from we didn't have these bounty posters."

"And you never read about them in the newspaper? How?" Bartolomeo asked incredulously.

"No newspaper, either," Naruto said, "We're not affiliated with the World Government."

Shakky and Bartolomeo nodded. There were still some islands in the Grand Line that abstained from the world alliance, and remained mostly lawless. It was rare that they could retain their autonomy, but in some cases, like Wano Country, the people or rulers were powerful enough to do so. In most cases, however, the World Government simply didn't have any interest in ruling useless islands. Those islands would have no access to the news services most countries in the alliance were given.

"This is so exciting!" Bartolomeo almost squealed. "I get to be the first to tell you about the Strawhats!" He seemed to get lost in his thoughts, daydreaming about the momentous, to him, experience that was about to occur. He really worshipped the group. Naruto chuckled.

Shakky cleared her throat to get Naruto's attention.

"The Strawhats are a notorious pirate group famous for declaring war on the World Government nearly. Monkey D. Luffy was their captain, and after striking a Celestial Dragon here on Saboady Archipelago two years ago, he participated in the Battle of Marineford to prevent the execution of his brother, Portgas D. Ace, who happened to be the son of the previous Pirate King."

Bartolomeo was staring at her with a gaping mouth and tears falling from his eyes. Naruto listened to Shakky intently.

"He wasn't able to save Ace, and he and his crew have been thought dead since then."

"But you don't believe that, do you?" he asked. She'd first referred to them as though they were still alive.

"You caught my little slip, did you?" she smiled. "No. I know they aren't, which is one of the reasons this idiot," she waved her hand at the crying Bartolomeo, "hangs around here."

"One of the reasons?" Naruto asked.

Shakky smiled again, and her head tilted down slightly.

"The other," she reached out to cup Naruto's cheek, "is that men find me hard to resist."

Naruto blushed and scooched his chair back furiously. The move looked ridiculous for a grown man.

"Grandma, I know someone just like you!" he accused. "Just 'cause you don't look it doesn't mean I can't feel it!"

Shakky pouted, but brushed off his comment on her age gracefully.

"You'd be one of the few, then," she lamented.

"Hey! Stop ignoring me!" Bartolomeo shouted. "You skipped all of the best parts of the story! I was supposed to tell him!" His eyes were red and he didn't look nearly as intimidating with tear tracks running down his face as he had when he'd first approached Naruto.

"Is there more?" Naruto asked in surprise. Shakky _did_ give him a rather condensced story, and he would have liked to hear more. Declaring war on the government? How? The Battle of Marineford sounded vaguely familiar, but Naruto couldn't place where he'd heard it.

"It's too late," Bartolomeo said glumly. "She ruined it."

"That's fine, you can tell me later!" Naruto told him. He turned back to Shakky. "Actually, I spent a few days on Zou," her eyes widened, "and the Minks told me to come here if I wanted to get a better understanding of the world, and find someone to teach me about Haki. I guess a bar owner would be able to do just that…?" he trailed off questioningly. It was up to her, but he hoped that she'd take him up on it.

"Zou, you say?" she asked rhetorically. "How're those old-asses, Inu and Neko doing?"

"You know them?" Naruto asked in surprise. He laughed at the pet names she had for them. "They're doing fine, they had this little spat, but my partner sorted them out." He laughed in memory of the co-ruler's ridiculous relationship.

"Sorted them out? I would have liked to see that. I heard about their feud from the last Mink that came this way, I thought it was pretty hilarious," she said. "Not very practical, though."

"Definitely not," Naruto agreed.

"Anyway," Shakky said, "A friend of my friends is welcome here. I don't mind filling you in. Though, ah, I don't know about that Haki part. It's a dangerous ability, you see. Not something that just anyone should be equipped with."

"Thanks, grandma," Naruto said, smiling warmly at her. She laughed lightly at the name. "I'll just have to figure it out on my own, I guess." While he was glad to have made at least a passing connection outside of Zou, hearing that there wouldn't be people willing to teach Haki was disheartening.

"To answer your first question," Shakky said, continuing on, "I have their posters up because I believe in them. I think that Luffy D. Monkey has what it takes to become the next Pirate King." Beside her, Bartolomeo sprung back to life, all trace of his tears gone.

"That's right!" he declared. "Luffy will become Pirate King! And the Barto Club will help him!"

He deflated once more. "If only I could find that damn fruit."

"You're looking for a fruit to help Luffy become Pirate King?"

Shakky shook her head. "He's looking for the Mera Mera no Mi, Portgas D. Ace's Devil Fruit. It's one of the other reasons why Bartolomeo is here, I'm kept rather well informed, you see."

Naruto was confused. "But I thought he was executed?"

"He was," Shakky agreed, "but when a Devil Fruit wielder dies, their fruit appears somewhere else. Hunters have been in search of it since that day because it is one of the most powerful Logia-class Devil Fruit."

He wrinkled his nose. "That's weird," he said.

"Never said it wasn't, that's just how it works." She shrugged. At the same time the doors to the bar were kicked open yet again.

"I'm looking for Bartolomeo the Cannibal," a loud, obnoxious voice announced. Naruto, after digesting that odd nickname, rolled his eyes at the man's antics. The bar was next-to-empty, there wasn't any need for him to go shouting like that. The newcomer was flanked by two much smaller, even less intimidating people on either side of him. Neither of them looked as confident as the first.

"Cannibal?" he glanced sideways at Bartolomeo, who was looking a little more alert than he'd been before.

"It's 'cause of my teeth," he answered, reaching his fingers into his mouth and spreading his lips apart. Sure enough, each of his teeth were just as sharp as the ones Naruto'd seen originally, poking past his lips.

The man heard the comment and looked over to them. Which, considering that they were some of the only people in the bar, made it clear that his deduction skills were less than adequate.

Naruto winked at Shakky who'd begun rolling her sleeves up in preparation of the beat down she was going to give the bounty hunters. "I'll do it," he said. "I'm broke, gotta pay for those drinks I'll be having somehow."

He looked back to the trio and stood up, moving away from his stool.

"Excuse me, mister?" he asked, raising his hand mockingly in question. "Don't you know it's rude to make announcements like that without introducing yourself first?"

The bounty hunters looked and felt despicably weak, their aura couldn't compare to the two he'd felt before, which happened to be Bartolomeo and Shakky. He took a deep breath in preparation for his next action. The technique, if you could call it that, worked much better for him now that he didn't have to actually use the air he breathed in, and he didn't have any flesh in his throat to accidentally eviscerate upon its execution.

The front man blushed, actually taking Naruto's taunt to heart.

"Hrm," he cleared his throat, "I suppose you're -,"

Naruto lowered his hand, hard, and smashed it into his own stomach. Shakky and Bartolomeo were watching inquisitively from their place in the booth, wondering what Naruto hoped to accomplish with such a move. It was only Shakky that saw a hint of what occurred, when the air in front of Naruto's face rippled, somewhat.

The hit to his stomach forcefully propelled the air, now powered by a small amount of Wind Chakra, out of his body, through his mouth. The low-powered ball of air traveled quickly and invisibly in a straight line to the bounty hunters and struck the largest one, the one in the middle, directly in his chest. He, much like his predecessors that had nearly bowled Naruto over when he was approaching the bar, was thrown back out of the establishment and across the clearing, slamming into another tree's roots.

It was more of a blunt force attack than most other Wind techniques, so he would be more bruised than cut when he woke. If he woke. He'd been throw quite far, after all. Naruto hadn't used that beginner's technique in years, since before waking up in the past.

"Heh," Naruto chuckled weakly. "Still haven't gotten that under control, I guess."

"What the hell was that?" Bartolomeo demanded. The members of his group in the other booth were staring at Naruto with stars in their eyes, and the two weaker bounty hunters that had accompanied the first quickly retreated to, hopefully, retrieve their boss. "You didn't even do anything and he flew across the field!"

"That is a new one. Never seen someone breathe so hard before," Shakky said knowingly.

"You saw that?" Naruto asked. It took a good eye to notice Wind techniques, especially his, as Wind is his specialty.

"I saw the air distort around your face," she said. "Peculiar Devil Fruit ability, isn't it?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Yeah, my... Devil Fruit ability. Heh. Pretty neat, right?"

He'd never been a fantastic liar, especially to people as keen as the grandma he was now faced with. Thankfully, she let it go, though it was clear by the slight narrowing of her eyes that she hadn't been fooled by his objectively horrible acting.

"Let's get you that drink," she said.

* * *

Naruto was walking down the path of Grove 31. He'd left Shakky's bar after speaking with her, Bartolomeo, and Gambia, after the man had finally woken up, for a while.

In the end, he'd actually secured a promise from Bartolomeo to bring him along to the city of Water 7, which was famous for its shipwrights. Apparently, many famous ships had been created there, and it would be his best bet for finding the ship he needed. Bartolomeo had commissioned his own ship and it was set to start construction in a few days, at which point he would head back in that direction to oversee its creation, which is why he'd readily accepted Naruto's request to take him there. Until then, all Naruto could do was explore the Archipelago.

The only problem… was that Naruto was broke. Flat broke, not a Beli to his name. His drinks at Shakky's had been paid for by his deeds and her good will, but a ship was no small purchase, especially the size of one he planned to commission.

Suddenly he was yanked from his thoughts by a hand grabbing his arm and yanking him down to his knees. He looked at the offending limb, and saw that it belonged to a middle aged woman who looked scared out of her mind. He pulled his arm from her grasp and looked around intently for the source of her fear, only to see everyone in the walkway in the same position as she, and now him, on their knees with their heads bowed. It was bewildering.

The only one that wasn't taking such actions, he saw, was an older man who was travelling the center of the street, sitting upon the back of another individual who was crawling on his hands and knees. Immediately, Naruto understood what was going on. He could see the collar from where he sat, and he'd heard the horror stories from the Minks. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another individual, like Naruto himself, that was looking around the area. It was clear that the now-identified Celestial Dragon noticed as well, because when the kneeling man's eyes fell back onto the noble, they were met with the barrel of a gun staring right back. The World Noble wasted no time in ending the man's life for the infraction of looking upon him.

Naruto was used to death. He'd seen plenty of it in his profession, and while he didn't like it, he'd grown somewhat numb to the necessity of it. However, the careless snuffing of life that the Noble had just displayed was infuriating, and the only thing that stopped him from rushing the obnoxious, bubble-headed man was the firm grip the woman who'd initially grabbed him now had on the back of his neck. She'd seen him tense, and known exactly what he'd planned to do.

"_Stop_!" she pleaded in a whisper. "_If you attack him, you'll bring the Admirals!"_

The last time that had happened, there were countless deaths on the Archipelago. Strawhat Luffy had struck a Celestial Noble in the Slave Auction House, and brought the full might of the Marines down on them.

Naruto was tense for a few more seconds before he relaxed in her grip, looking back at her and nodding. She sighed in relief and they waited, like everyone else in the clearing, for the Noble to pass by.

The two stood up.

"Get out of here," the woman said coldly. "We don't need your kind bringing us trouble right now."

Naruto had no problem complying, though he wanted to clarify something before he left.

"Those nobles… They're rich, right?"

She looked at him strangely. "They're the Celestial Dragons, what do you think? They own the world."

Naruto nodded. He figured that was the case. "Thanks," he said, and turned back in the direction of Shakky's Bar. A smile spread across his face. He'd just been inspired.

* * *

Next chapter will be the start of the first bit of actual action in this story. It may take a little longer to post, because I have... absolutely no frame to work from with what I'm doing. Have to create this place from scratch and I don't want to trip myself up with inconsistencies.

Hopefully by now it's becoming clear when Naruto has been deposited in the One Piece timeline.

Make sure to review once you're caught up with my most recent chapter!


	7. Chapter Seven

I've just discovered that I've been spamming people with alerts for my story. I've been going back and making edits of all sizes to grammar and what-have-you to my previous chapters, not knowing that every time i replaced them, it sent out an alert. My bad. I'll limit my edits to the day of my updates, and I'll do them all at once.

Also, a few chapters back, I invited you to PM me if you have any questions. Didn't realize my PMs were off. They're on now, but be warned that I tend to overshare, so i may spoil parts of the story by accident.

* * *

"Oi! Shak-gah!"

A wet, dirty rag found its way into his mouth, thrown with deadly precision across the room by none other than the owner herself as soon as he'd walked through the front door. It was almost as if she'd know precisely when to throw it to catch him with his mouth open.

He stood still for a moment, his mind blank, before ripping the rag out.

"What was that for?" he asked indignantly.

"Oh, Naruto," Shakky chided, "I'm sure you must know that us women don't like to be reminded of our age. That was just a little payback," the woman smiled benignly.

"That was hours ago, I thought we were past it!" Naruto exclaimed. He dodged to the left to avoid another rag. "Stop!" he whined.

"Well, us old folk are known for our patience, after all," she joked.

"You- you just said it too, how is that fair?"

Naruto could hear a rumbling laughter from within him. It was good to know that the Bijuu wasn't _completely_ ignoring him, even if he'd elected to start up the silent treatment.

"It's my bar, I do what I want here," she said childishly. "I'll be with you in just a moment, Naruto, you interrupted something."

It was then that he noticed the other patrons that had replaced the Barto Club. Where the 'Cannibal's' group went, Naruto didn't know, but he figured they'd turn up here again before they left for Water 7.

None of the new customers stood out. The one that Shakky was helping before he'd burst in was all but drooling while making direct eye contact with her mostly exposed cleavage. Naruto snorted at the simplicity of some people.

It's not that he wasn't used to such behavior; three of the most influential people in his life had been varying degrees of 'pervert'. One kept his porn in the top drawer of his desk, one read it in public, and the other wrote said porn. However, those three had also been able to keep their wits about them in spite of their vices and were incredibly respected individuals. The ones in the bar could barely even function when faced with Shakky.

Naruto steered himself to an empty booth in the far corner of the room and sat in wait of the bar's owner. He only had to wait a few minutes for her to finally make her way over and take a seat opposite him at the booth, much to the apparent anger and jealousy of the others in the room. He rolled his eye when he felt the angry stares fall on him.

"So, what's the deal?" Shakky asked. "Thought you were gonna be explorin' for a while."

Naruto smiled at her blunt demeanor. "I was, did," he began, thinking of a way to broach the topic. "But I came across one of those Celestial Dragons in Grove 31."

She winced. "Oh," she said.

"Yeah. I wasn't really ready for it," he mentioned. "He shot a man for looking at him. I almost attacked him on the spot, but a woman stopped me. Said that the Admirals would come if something like that happened, and I remembered what you said about Strawhat."

Shakky nodded, relieved. "It's probably best that you didn't. Last time was bad with Kizaru, one of the three admirals, but it would probably be worse this time."

"Why's that?" Naruto asked.

She thought for a moment. "The Marine headquarters used to be here. It was an easy thing to send an Admiral to protect the Celestial Dragons. After the Battle of Marineford, it was moved to the New World."

That was new information.

Shakky continued. "Because the headquarters is so far away, I don't think they'd send an admiral to take care of it," she said, "it hasn't happened yet, but I think they would send a contingent of the nearest Vice Admirals."

Naruto was confused. "So, why would that be worse than an Admiral? I thought that it was the Admiral that did the most damage two years ago."

"Well, two years ago was a bit of an exception. Eleven of the most powerful rookie pirates were here at the same time, and Admiral Kizaru had to fight my – well, he had to fight someone else off that was assisting the rookies," she explained. "So there was a lot more destruction than there should have been. A group of Vice Admirals, their crews, and the Pacifista they bring with them would not be nearly as restrained, though."

"Pacifista?" Naruto asked. He hadn't heard that name yet.

"That's right, you're 'new'," she remembered. "The Pacifista are indiscriminate pirate-hunters made by the Marines. Big, destructive robots. Even one is usually more than a match for most Grand Line pirates. Really all they can do is make things go 'boom'."

That made sense. 'Booms' and 'buildings' don't usually mix. The same could also be said of flesh, especially the civilian type.

"So, instead of sending a single Admiral to hunt down the perpetrator alone, the Marines would send a group of Vice Admirals to… blow everything up?"

Shakky shrugged. "It's possible," she said. "Like I said, it hasn't happened yet, so there's really no way of knowing, but any way it plays out it wouldn't be good."

"So…" Naruto adopted a thinking pose. "What would happen if someone were to, say, break into that big fancy city of theirs on top of the Red Line?"

The older woman scrutinized him. "Don't even think about it, Naruto," she commanded.

He acted surprised. "Me? No way, I'm not strong enough to stand up to the World Government. I'm just curious, is all." He wasn't fooling anyone.

She hit him with another look, showing that she hadn't bought a word of it. "I'm serious, Naruto. What you're suggesting has only been done once before, and it instantly made the man the most wanted in the entire Grand Line."

"C'mon, grandma, at least humor me. What would happen?"

After a few more moments of studying him, she relented. "Don't be a fool, Naruto."

He opened his mouth to protest, but Shakky held a hand up to interrupt him. "Don't be a fool after I tell you what would happen. You'll understand my hesitation when I'm done."

He closed his mouth and nodded.

"First, one would have to climb the Red Line. There are official ways up, but one wouldn't take those with the plan assault Mary Geoise. Years ago, Fisher Tiger scaled the Red Line with his bare hands on his mission to free the slaves."

Naruto blinked. That… was impressive. He was able to do it easily using Chakra, but free climbing the massive continent would definitely be impossible for a normal person.

She went on, addressing him directly now. "Then you would have to break into the Domain of the Gods, the Celestial Dragon's city, which is yet another impossible task. I have no doubt that they've completely redesigned their security."

Well, breaking in shouldn't be too much of an issue. Those in Naruto's profession were generally pretty good at such tasks.

"Then, you'd do whatever it is you're planning in that pretty little head of yours, attracting the attention of every Noble and every Marine in all of Mary Geoise."

That is, _if_ they ever realized he was there.

"And while the Marines may not send an Admiral here, there, you'd be lucky to get just one of the three. Hell, the Fleet Admiral himself may even come after you."

Naruto whistled in appreciation. That was a lot of resistance.

"They're really serious about protecting those ridiculous Nobles, aren't they?" he asked.

"The World Government is controlled by those Nobles, Naruto. The Marines don't really have a choice," she informed him. "But, to wrap it up, if you, somehow, managed to escape, well… you wouldn't. You'd be hunted for the rest of your life."

"Well, how'd the other guy get away?"

"He was gone before most of the Marines were able to respond, and the place that he returned to was under the protection of a much younger Whitebeard."

"That would do it," Naruto agreed. From the stories he'd heard, the old man had been just as much of a badass as Naruto's own grandpa, the Third Hokage, had been, even at his advanced age. "Well, so where is this 'Domain of the Gods'?" he asked.

"Naruto…" she warned.

"I know, I know, remember? Besides, do I even look like I could climb the Red Line?" he vaguely gestured to himself.

"I don't know why I'm even worried," she shook her head, "If you get killed, it's no skin off my nose. It's right in the back yard of Pangea Castle, the building you can see from the island down here. You can't really miss it, there's supposedly a big, fancy gate and all."

"Don't worry, Shakky. I'm not gonna do anything that gets me in trouble," he reassured her. "I don't think that I'm ready to face someone like an _Admiral_ until I know more about Haki, after all."

Naruto looked up from their conversation he felt what he believed to be Bartolomeo's presence right outside the bar. The green-haired man entered to room and immediately zeroed in on him and Shakky. He nodded his head at them in greeting, and made his way over.

"There ya are, blondie!" he exclaimed, not sitting down. "I've been lookin for you. Hey, Shakky." She nodded at him in greeting.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked.

"We got a call, Galley La's starting on our ship sooner than they said they would," he said. "So we gotta leave tonight."

Naruto's eye widened. That put him in a tight spot.

"That soon? What time?"

"You busy or somethin?" Bartolomeo asked. "Don't really got a time yet, just, a bit before midnight."

It was around eight, now. That gave him… very little time to do what he needed to do. An hour to get there, another or two to scale the Red Line, and he could set up a marker on the Archipelago… Well, it's not like he planned on sticking around afterwards. It could work. It would have to.

Both Shakky and the green-haired captain were staring at him expectantly.

"Sure, that works for me. Where should I meet you?"

Shakky looked relieved.

"I figured that we could look at something special before we left, so meet us in Grove 41." He said, excitement clear in his voice. "We aren't waiting past midnight, so make sure you get there!"

Naruto waved him off. "Yeah, yeah, I will." Bartolomeo said his farewells to Shakky and left the bar.

"You know, kid, if you're really looking for a ship, I could loan you some money," Shakky said offhandedly to him. "Though, there'd obviously be two hundred percent interest." She put a hand to her chin in mock-thought.

"Thanks, grandma," Naruto said, standing up from his place at the booth and making to leave the bar, "But I'll be fine. Gonna need a lot of money for a ship big enough for my partner and I, after all. I'll see ya around!"

"Naruto!" she called.

He quickly turned from his walk to the door to respond. "Yeah, Sh-,"

His hand shot out to intercept the rag before it could violate him again, the movement impossibly quick. "That's the worst goodbye I've ever gotten!" he complained.

She eyed him critically. "Be safe, kid."

"I'll be fine, Shakky. And I always keep my word."

"Come back here in a month. There may be a teacher around for you."

Naruto grinned. "Awesome!" he turned to leave once more. "See you then, grandma!"

* * *

Naruto stood in the center of the city known as the Domain of the Gods.

Perhaps if he hadn't been awed by the being he'd landed on upon his arrival to this world, or the magnificent natural behemoths that were the mangroves of Saboady Archipelago, he would have been impressed. Even still, he may have been moved by the beauty of each of the homes, _mansions_, surrounding him had he not known that they were the product of decades of forced slave labor and countless of those victim's deaths.

However, he was fortunate enough to be able to see through the apparent beauty of the place, to see it for what it really was. A monument to the epitome of atrocity in this new world he now lived in. The proof of the evil that, over centuries, humans could devolve to.

The Celestial Dragons. The ones that believed themselves so superior that they refused to even breathe the same air as any other not of their class. The ones that believed that, compared to them, human life held so little value that it could be used and thrown away like trash.

They were supposedly the descendants of the original families that created and ruled the World Government eight hundred years ago, though had Naruto not been told of the extensive known history of the world, he would never have believed such a statement based on their appearances. The man he'd seen in Saboady Archipelago looked pathetic; thin, weak arms with similar legs to match, and snot _literally _dripping from his nose. There was no way that the original Twenty Kings from this world's history had been this way. Their behavior was in no way befitting of a true ruler, the likes of which he'd had experience with back home in the form of the Kages, and even a select few Daimyo. No, from his first encounter to what he'd seen in the few minutes scouting out their city, they were more like sick, twisted, spoiled brats that didn't know the first thing about the true nature of the world, other than the truth that they were fed by their family and created for themselves to further their own feelings of importance.

Kurama wasn't actively feeding him Chakra, but Naruto could still sense the heavy, foreboding feeling of what must have been centuries upon centuries of malice, all centered within this single city. He was glad that he'd chosen to seal Kurama, and that the fox had the sense to not put up too much of a fuss about it. Despite Naruto's jokes, the ability to feel the negative emotions was a terrible one, especially since there was no way for Kurama to turn it off. Naruto himself was having a hard time not losing himself in the hate that he could feel with his meager sensing skills. It was overwhelming. Years of the Noble's disgust and disdain for those around them mixed with the hatred their captive slaves felt for themselves and their captors would certainly be enough to overwhelm the Bijuu, if the, relatively, tiny amount of negativity within the Elemental Nations was at times enough to do so.

Despite his impeccable control, a small amount of Naruto's chakra bubbled forth, nearly breaking the grasp he held on the camouflage technique that Jiraiya had taught him. All around him, lines of slaves of varying species, genders, and ages walked by. Each was assuredly only travelling at the behest of their 'masters', as doing otherwise would be a crime punishable to the slaves by death. He looked around, but didn't spot a single slave with their eyes not glued to the ground in front of their feet, mechanically moving to do their masters bidding.

He waited a few more moments, searching desperately for even a single one of the enslaved people to look up, hopeful that he would see the tiniest spark of defiance within their eyes.

Just when he finally decided that it was futile, another slave joined the rest, exiting the mansion directly in front of Naruto and walking forward exit the Celestial Dragon's property. Naruto's remaining eye narrowed in fury as he saw the mottled face of the young boy, no older than nine or ten, black and purple with bruises. The right side of his face was horribly swollen, to the point that it forced his eye shut, and his deep red hair was reddened further, clearly matted with blood. What truly drew Naruto's attention, however, was the rage that he could see burning in the kid's visible eye. Unlike every slave he'd encountered so far, this kid didn't walk in a pathetic manner; he stomped forward, not once lowering his face to the ground in defeat.

_Finally. _

Pedro had mentioned that most slaves either gave up any hope of freedom, and, after long enough, even embraced their new life. Some were actually known to willingly begin to defend their masters. If there were any like that around, Naruto would have to be especially careful. While it wasn't necessarily their fault, there was only so much that they could do with explosives strapped around their throats, it was still a pathetic way to live. He'd hoped that Pedro was exaggerating, but from what he'd seen, the Mink was spot-on in his descriptions. Naruto wouldn't have any chance with a slave that wasn't willing to risk their own life for freedom, and he wasn't willing to risk the lives of all of them on that chance, either.

He moved forward slowly so as to keep the technique enshrouding him active, and began to follow the red-haired kid, waiting for an opportune time when there were minimal eyes on them to whisk the boy out of the road to talk with him. A few minutes of walking on _gold-gilded_ roads later, and he seized an opportunity. The kid had stepped onto the property of yet another Celestial Dragon, apparently running some sort of errand for his own overlord.

Naruto grabbed the child's shoulder and _Shunshin_'ed to the far edge of the Noble's yard, where they would be covered by the particularly, surprisingly dense shrubbery and trees. It was odd that so much greenery existed in the yard, most of the ones that he'd seen so far had every inch of their property adorned in gold or other precious metals and gems, leaving little room for even grass to grow.

Before the boy ripped himself from Naruto's grasp, Naruto was able to, with the contact between them, get a better sense of the kid's self. He had a surprising amount of will and power hidden within him, though it was obviously being smothered by the presence of the Celestial Nobles and the environment that he was being forced to live in. With the strength that Naruto could feel, it was no wonder that the young boy had maintained his defiance for so long.

That inner will didn't help him with his very first _Shunshin_, though, and he doubled over, releasing the contents of his stomach onto the grass at his feet. Weakly, he turned around to face his apparent assailant.

Despite his bruises, Naruto could still somewhat see the shape of the kid's face. He looked too old for his age. Likely due to his living circumstances, he appeared to have features that would usually be more present on a teenager; little-to-no baby fat concealing his sharp cheekbones and angled jaw, eyebrows furrowed in a way that could be interpreted as either focused or angry. Maybe it was both? His slightly wavy red hair fell to either side of his face, whether it was a natural style or just the way that he wore it to keep it out of his eyes. The color of it evoked an old feeling within Naruto, and the memory of a _red-haired_ woman quickly flitted in and out of his mind. It was enough to give him pause before initiating the conversation between them.

The boy was torn between looking horrified that he'd just defiled the yard of one of the Nobles and curious of what had just occurred, who it was that had moved him in such a way. His confusion started from the ground up. When a slave was accosted by someone within the Doman of the Gods, it was usually for punishment, by either the Nobles themselves or by one of their non-enslaved employees. In this case, as he'd been physically touched, he assumed it would be one of the latter, but the individual was not wearing the customary leather shoes that most of the true residents of the city wore. Instead, he was wearing black, open-toed sandals, the likes of which he'd never seen before, as they extended a little above the man's ankle.

His pants were also black, starting an inch or two below his knees. The clothing appeared to be lined with a light orange, the color only visible due to the two's close proximity. With only one working eye it was difficult to be certain, he thought he could make out even darker designs patterned onto the pants, though he didn't understand what the point of decorating black with more black would be. On his right thigh, what looked to be a few oddly-shaped knives were held in a holster of sorts, bound tightly to the pants.

His jacket was what, so far, stood out the most. Though it too was mostly black, it had a solid ring of orange around the very bottom, almost like a belt. On the left breast and left sleeve, there were identical symbols; what appeared to be very basic swirl patterns. Each of the swirls were the same color orange as the what appeared everywhere else in his clothing, and the contrast between the black and the orange made the symbols stand out like miniature suns. The stranger's right sleeve was rolled up to his elbow, and black tattoos were scattered across almost every bit of visible skin, save for the man's palm.

Instead of the slave collar he'd half expected to see around the man's neck, there was a dented silver metal headband, a design similar to the one on his jacket faintly visible through the item's wear.

His gaze immediately descended to the ground upon glimpsing some of the man's facial features: blue eyes, blond hair. Two features that were incredibly common among the Celestial Dragons. And he'd almost made direct eye contact with him.

Naruto patiently waited the few seconds that it took for the boy to take him in, and was confused when, after all the fight he'd seen in him before, he refused to look him in the eye.

"Not gonna look at me?" Naruto asked, making sure to use the warmest tone he could.

His words, while spoken kindly, were obviously a challenge, and the kid knew it. Still, he refused to take the bait.

"I'll clean the yard immediately, master." The boy ground out. The words showed obedience though his tone displayed anything but.

At that, Naruto realized that the child-slave thought him to be some sort of authority figure, and was refusing to look at him out of self preservation rather than just fear. It wasn't just the Celestial Dragons that the slaves had to show absolute respect to, after all.

He placed a hand on top of the boy's head and gently tilted it back, so that they could meet each other's eyes. The eye contact didn't last for long as Naruto smiled, tilting his head slightly to the side, his remaining eye closing with the movement. It was enough to win over a measure of the child's trust, at least temporarily.

"Who are you? What do you want with me?" he asked, his voice flat, missing of the previous malice it had been poorly hiding. Now he could actually get a good look at the man's face. He had, as the boy had noticed earlier, blond hair and blue eyes, though those were by far the least noticeable features present on him. He actually had whiskers!

On closer inspection, he realized they weren't real whiskers, and were more like tattoos or birthmarks. Still, just as unique.

Naruto crouched down to his level, keeping a small smile on his face though his eye was now wide open. "My name's Naruto," he said, "I think that I'm here to do something you'll like very much."

"Oh yeah, _Naruto_?" he asked, braver now, repeating Naruto's name almost disdainfully. "What could you possibly know about me?"

Naruto dropped his smile. "Enough, I'd say," he did say, "I don't think you're too happy about that jewelry around your neck, are you?"

The red-haired boy's uninjured eye widened, before he took a step backwards distrustfully.

"Don't talk to me like I'm a kid," he spat, anger making itself known, "There ain't any kids here. This," he grabbed the collar angrily, "is a bomb, and I _know_ you know I can't do nothin about it." Against his will, moisture began gathering at the corner of his non-swollen eye. It was just his luck to run into a stranger on today of all days, that just wanted to 'point and laugh at the slave's misfortune'.

"I know you probably haven't been a child since being brought here," Naruto replied, solemn, pushing past the kid's animosity, "but you're still young. You deserve to act it, you know?"

The boy glowered at him.

"Now, what's your name? I have an important question for you, and I'd like to know your name before I ask." Naruto waited for him to respond.

Finally, he relented. "It's Rowan, but no one calls me that here."

"Well, then, _Rowan_," Naruto began, using his name with a purpose, "how would I go about getting this ugly thing off?" he asked, reaching out and tapping the collar lightly.

Rowan blushed at the first use of his name by an adult in what seemed like forever. The other kids knew it, but they stopped caring after a while, and he'd not come across another person older than him that even cared enough to ask, beaten down as all of the slaves here were. In fact, he hadn't had an actual conversation since the few weeks after the most recent child was added to the Noble's collection, though he'd broken fairly quickly.

He lowered his head again, this time to mask his embarrassment. "You don't," he said, "If it bends too much, it'll explode after a few seconds. I seen it happen to someone when he fell, he dented the collar in."

Naruto hid his grimace. That little pressure was enough to set it off?

"Well," he said, putting on a show of being in deep thought for the kid, "what if I'm quicker than a few seconds, then? It should be fine, yeah?"

Rowan nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, but there's nobody that quick. I heard that even the giants aren't strong enough to do it."

Naruto looked around their hidden little area conspiratorially before looking back to Rowan and winking. It was a weird look to the boy, because the man's other eye was already closed, but the Naruto was able to convey the mischievous emotion of the wink fairly well.

He shot out his hand faster than Rowan could begin to follow, and the only immediate evidence that something had even happened was the faint rustling of Naruto's clothing and the new breeze Rowan could feel drifting through the air.

Naruto had coated his fingers in Wind Chakra and slashed them through the branches of one of the short but thick trees they were hiding among. A few seconds later, much to Rowan's astonishment, the branch fell, the patterns of the technique not even visible, the cut was so smooth. It had been such a fast movement that Rowan had thought he'd imagined it! Though, he supposed that was what Naruto was trying to show, that he was faster than 'a few seconds'.

Hope blossomed in Rowan's chest, though it was tempered by his past experiences with the feeling.

"So, you can cut wood. This is metal, see?" he craned his neck up to give Naruto a better look.

"I know, Rowan," he said, using the boy's name once more, "I think that I can do it. Do you trust me?"

Rowan stared blankly at the blond before him. "You pulled me over here three minutes ago, I don't even know you."

"That's fair," Naruto conceded. "But think: would you rather spend your life like this, in service to those bubble-headed assholes, or risk your life on the chance to escape now? I can't stay here for much longer; you have to choose now!"

Rowan bit his lip. Since he could remember, he'd wanted to be free, to go sailing much like the boy his mother had watched over did years before. He didn't remember much about his island, but he remembered his mother, and that boy's carefree attitude and approach to life, something that had still managed to keep him inspired during the time of his captivity.

A life enslaved was no life at all, he'd likely be killed on a whim before too long. The older slaves in the mansion he worked in were replaced daily, the previous ones likely dead, or worse.

He gathered himself and resolutely looked back up to match his eye to Naruto's.

"Can you? Take it off, I mean?" he asked, his voice quiet but firm.

Naruto grinned. "It's a little tricky, but it shouldn't be too hard. I won't be cutting it like I showed you, though," he answered, much to Rowan's relief. "Is there anyone else that won't be afraid of escaping?"

Rowan shook his head, before he paused, a debate likely going on within his mind. "Well, there are others my age in the mansion, but most of them are pretty far gone. Would you still be able to free them?"

Without hesitation, Naruto nodded. "I'm planning on breaking in to a few mansions, anyway. I think I can make a little detour."

He placed both hands over his chest, crossing the fingers on each hand. A puff of smoke covered a good amount of the yard, which he'd checked for inhabitants beforehand, and hundreds of his copies could suddenly be seen. One-by-one they disappeared, activating their own Camouflage techniques, until only three were left standing near the wide-eyed Rowan and smirking Naruto.

"What the hell?" Rowan barked in astonishment. "Wha-the-," he stuttered, "How the hell did you do that?"

Naruto put a finger to his lips, shushing the boy. "I'm a Ninja, see?" he said, taking out one of his normal Kunai and twirling it around his fingers.

The red-haired boy deadpanned. "That doesn't answer anything," he said.

"I know," the ninja chirped, "but it's a secret!"

Naruto quickly grew serious and beckoned Rowan over to him. When they were standing only a few inches apart, Naruto crouched once more, positioning himself at eye-level with the collar on Rowan's neck. He carefully, delicately began to channel a minute amount of Chakra to the tip of his pointer finger, and brought it up to the collar.

"I'm going to do something that should hopefully let me take this thing off without breaking it. I need a full one so that I can study it to make them easier to remove later," he explained. "Those guys," he said, tilting his head towards his three remaining clones, "are here to take your place in case something goes wrong. No matter what, I have a way to get you out of this, but the other way will blow the collar and my clones up."

Rowan gulped and nodded, a bead of sweat trickling down his jaw to drip from his chin. He wasn't lying before; he didn't really have any reason to trust the strange man that appeared and offered help out of nowhere, but it was the first time since he'd been enslaved that he was shown kindness by someone without a collar. Maybe it was naïve of him, but, like the man had said, he was allowed to act his age sometimes.

"This might feel weird," Naruto warned as he finished drawing the seals onto the metal casing of the explosive device with his finger.

He pressed the pad of that finger to the collar and channeled a tiny amount of Chakra into the seal, noticing but not really paying attention to the ease of which he was able to control his own power. As soon as the first drop of chakra entered the seal, the collar turned translucent, looking, literally, like a ghost of its former self.

It was a failed seal that he'd created after being faced with Obito's _Kamui_ one-too-many times. It was meant to send whatever it had been drawn on to the alternate _Kamui_ dimensions, hopefully creating a way for their alliance to combat the man's terrifying techniques in both dimensions simultaneously, something that Kakashi had eventually been able to do himself using the man's other _Sharingan_. However, no matter what Naruto tried, he couldn't match it to the dimension that he wanted, instead creating the same effect as the _Kamui_, but with an otherwise irrelevant dimension. Apparently, the _Kamui's_ dimensions were inaccessible except by the wielders of the _Sharingan_ themselves.

With his finger still linked to the seal using his Chakra, he slowly pulled the collar off of the boy's neck, exposing the chafed, pale skin underneath. Only when the collar was fully removed did Naruto or Rowan dare to even breathe, the older letting out a small sigh of satisfaction and the younger collapsing to his knees with tears pouring down his face, heaving great gasps of air. The clones around them dispersed into clouds of smoke.

Naruto took a deep breath and rose to his full height. Well," he said, rubbing the back of his head, "that was stressful."

Rowan choked on a laugh from his place on the ground, the wet sound his only reply to the blond's words.

"Rowan," Naruto addressed the boy gently, "I don't have much time. I have to be somewhere in less than an hour."

The red-haired boy sniffled before, with a great deal of effort, halting his sobs. He looked at Naruto, and from that one glance alone, Naruto could tell that the boy was already prepared to leave. Especially for a nine-year-old, he recovered incredibly quickly.

"Let's go, then." he said, wiping his face with the collar of his shirt. The only trace of his previous state was the red coloring the whites of his eye.

Naruto patted his head and agreed. "Yep. But, I gotta do a few things, first. Wanna come with?"

"Like what?" Rowan was anxious to quickly leave the foul city now that he was free.

Naruto wondered that himself. "Well, I need a lot of money for a ship, and these guys _are_ pretty loaded. It doesn't seem fair that they're keeping it for themselves, right?"

Rowan grinned, and shook his head. "They really like that stuff, you know?" he asked. "I- uh, I can show you where they keep it in a few of their houses."

Naruto clapped his hands together. "Then it's settled!" he declared. "And," he added as an afterthought, "it just doesn't feel right leaving without giving them a gift…" he trailed off, contemplating the possibilities.

"What do you mean?" Rowan asked curiously.

Naruto grinned again. It was quickly becoming a familiar expression to the red-haired boy.

"Oh, you'll see." He felt a twinge in the back of his mind, memories of a clone that dispelled itself coming through. "I'm sending those kids somewhere far away, safe. Honestly, I'm not sure how well that's gonna go over with everyone else…" he said the last part more to himself than to Rowan.

"You already freed them?" Rowan questioned, astonished. It had only been a few minutes at the most, there was no way!

"Of course!" Naruto said, "It's not like this place is hard to sneak around. All their security is on the outside!"

It was true. He could sense a number of more powerful presences further out, and a few that dwarfed those could be felt from within what he thought was Pangea Castle.

"Hopefully all of this will give these slaves some hope, so I can bust them out the next time I'm in the area."

He felt bad about not freeing everyone that he could, but frankly, this entire stunt was last-minute. The Bijuu and surely the Minks would likely already be pissed that he just sent nearly a hundred slave children to Zou with absolutely no warning, he couldn't very well send the thousands of others there as well. Next time, he'd be more prepared.

"You're doing this again?" Rowans voice was shrill; he couldn't believe the words the blond had spoken.

"I made a promise, Rowan," Naruto said softly, "You haven't heard me say it, yet, but I always keep my promises."

Rowan was quiet after hearing that. There really wasn't much that one could say in response, it was a such a pure statement.

"Anyway, let's get going," Naruto picked up Rowan and set him on his shoulders, despite the boy's protests. "Time's wasting!"

He pressed his hand into one of the exposed seals on his other arm, and with a light 'poof' two masks appeared. They were identical, one the replacement for the other, remnants of some of the more unsavory missions he'd been sent on back in the Elemental Nations. The masks were both stark white with red whisker marks similar to his own on the cheeks. Two little 'ears' poked out from the top, completing the look. Other than the whiskers and the holes for his eyes, the masks were completely blank. Anbu masks were generally meant to be somewhat off-putting.

He traced his finger on the inside of one, setting up yet another seal. So far, he'd yet to come across a single individual in this world with the ability to use Chakra, so the seal would make the mask stick to Rowan's face as the boy couldn't do it on his own.

He completed the seal and activated it before handing the mask to Rowan, who, understanding the function of the object, placed it on his own face after seeing Naruto do the same. A foreign feeling tingled across his skin, though it was numbed across his swollen side, and the mask seemed to stick itself to him.

"Like this?" Rowan asked, his voice muffled a bit from the mask.

Naruto couldn't really see the kid's face above him, but he could tell that the mask was firmly in place. He nodded.

"I'll take it off later, but we don't want anyone seeing our faces, do we?"

The boy shook his before saying, out loud, "Nope."

"Get ready, you don't want to get sick with that mask on."

Rowan stiffened and braced himself for what he correctly assumed Naruto was about to do. The pair disappeared from the Celestial Dragon's yard with the blur of a _Shunshin_.

* * *

Inside Pangea Castle, a man stood in front of a wide, white table. The man was quite large, almost nine feet in height. His purple, traditional yukata was covered by a white cloak, the cloak's shoulders in turn decorated with golden tassels. The cloak was widely recognized as a standard marine cloak, one that even those in his position chose to wear.

Issho, or _Fujitora_, as he was known to most of the world, was an older man. His eyes were perpetually closed, with crisscrossed scars starting a little way up his forehead extending over them. He sported short, black hair, and had both a neatly trimmed mustache and beard. Despite his age, he was actually a recently inducted Admiral of the Marines. Not by choice, but by necessity. Two of the positions had opened up, and he had been chosen to step up, something that he could not, in good conscience, refuse, knowing that any other choice had the potential to be much worse than he.

As an Admiral, he had many freedoms, but also many responsibilities. One of which was occasionally reporting to Mary Geoise to personally give reports to or receive reprimands from the Five Elders of the World Government, the ones that now sat at the grand, not that he could see it, table in front of him.

Admiral Issho also did not want to be here. Unlike many marines, he was not an advocate for the World Government. In truth, he despised almost all that they stood for. They preached peace, yet bent to the will of the World Nobles, allowing atrocities such as the ones he knew to be occurring that very moment in their city just outside of the castle he was inside of now.

One of the Elders in front of him was speaking, but Issho wasn't listening. A faint prickle had breached his senses, seemingly so far away that he wasn't sure if it was real or not. It was a feeling of chaos and panic, and despite the direction he believed it to be coming from, it was one that he couldn't ignore. He wondered what was happening in the accursed city.

Suddenly, an alarm began blaring, emanating from each of the five snails placed on the table by the Elders. It wasn't a sound that Issho was familiar with, though any sort of alarm was generally a bad sign. The leftmost elder, his white clothing separating him from the rest, reached his snail first. He poked at it, and suddenly, a frantic voice came gushing forth. It was quite loud, so Issho had no difficulty picking up on it.

"He's here! Send the Admirals! Send everyone! We're going to die!" the voice wailed nasally.

"Who is this? Who is it you are speaking of?" the Elder demanded.

"It's Charlos! Help me, now!"

The Elders looked at each other, worried. Charlos was one of their more foolish members, and apparently one that wasn't able to keep himself out of trouble. This marked the second time in two years he'd needed the Admiral's support. He wasn't particularly well liked by the elders, but their blood was sacred and must be protected at all costs.

"Charlos!" the elder shouted, looking up at Issho who hadn't so much as moved since the call came in. "Where are you? There is an Admiral in The Castle right now, let us know where to send him!"

"I'm in my room, he's broken into my house!"

_That_ got a reaction from Issho, as well as the rest of the Elders. Gasps of shock could be heard all around at the situation. Such an attack on their territory hadn't happened in years, after all.

Before the white-clad Elder could reply, a new voice could be heard faintly over the transmission. Its cheerfulness didn't match the feeling of the situation the Nobles had suddenly found themselves in.

"Calling for back-up? Too late, I'd say," said the youthful voice. "_Too late_!" echoed what seemed to be a younger accomplice.

"Now just act rationally and open this thing up for me," the original voice said, and a clang of something hitting metal could be heard, "so I don't have to toss you into the sea."

He was… stealing from them? Someone had broken into the Domain of the Gods to _rob _the World Nobles? Preposterous!

"Save meee!" Charlos wailed again.

"I wonder who it is you're speaking to," Charlos's whimpers could be heard over the intruder's voice. "The hell? Is that a snail? Why are you asking a snail for help?"

The Elder on the other end of the connection gathered himself. "Scum, there is an Admiral on his way to your location right now," he stated, more confidently than he felt. He looked up and noticed that Issho hadn't yet left. "You fool!" he bellowed, "Why are you still here?"

Issho hummed in amusement. "Ahh, just a few minutes ago you called us Admirals dogs, at your beck and call. This simple dog was just waiting for his order," he said quietly, his disrespect obvious to the Elders. He was here being reprimanded for his behavior on his last mission, it wasn't as if a few comments would put him any lower.

"Go!" the man shouted, pointing at the door. "Do your duty!"

"Of course, sir," Issho's play time clearly being brought to an end.

As he exited the room, the Elder looked back to the snail. "You've made the worst-," He was interrupted.

"Why does this snail keep talking? It's annoying."

The transmission was cut off.

* * *

Naruto shook the snail a few more times and held it up to his ear, much to the bemusement of his companion.

"Oi, kid," Naruto called, avoiding using his name in front of the Noble, "What is this thing?"

Rowan stared at Naruto in shock, though it wasn't visible through his mask. "I thought you were joking! How do you not know what a Den Den Mushi is?"

Naruto waved the question away. "I'm not from around here, is all," he replied. "So what's it for? It was talking earlier."

"It's for communication, so people can talk to each other from far away," Rowan explained.

"Oh, so like radios."

"Like what?"

"Never mind." It seemed like every time he turned around, the world he was in got weirder and weirder. Using snails to communicate? What the hell?

The voice from the snail had said that an Admiral was on his way, which meant that Naruto had precisely... no time at all to dawdle. He looked over at the now-unconscious form of the Noble, Charlos, apparently, and sighed. They really were pathetic.

Their wallets, however, were not. He looked to his side at the hefty vault he'd pounded earlier. It wouldn't be too difficult to break in to, but it was impressively large nonetheless.

A few seconds later, the container's door fell away, and Naruto was met with the view of dozens of tall, neat stacks of Beli, along with an uncountable assortment of what he assumed were precious stones. Surprisingly, he didn't see any actual gold within the vault, but he supposed that it would be a moot point to store something they used in basic construction along with their money.

He heard a sharp intake of breath come from behind him, and he looked back at his accomplice who was standing completely still, staring at the contents of the vault.

"So," he asked, his grin clear in his voice, "How much do you think it is?"

"There's no way I'd know that!" Rowan whispered, awed. "I've never seen so much before!"

"Feh," Naruto let out a disappointed noise. "I was hoping you could estimate. I hardly even know what the currency here looks like, after all."

"Maybe," Rowan started timidly, "Maybe it would be safe to open one from another? You know, just to be safe."

"Riiight," Naruto agreed. "Sure, just to be safe. We only have a few minutes until that Admiral gets here, I can feel that he's not in a rush, so we have to make it quick!"

Rowan nodded excitedly, watching as Naruto, with a 'poof', unsealed a large scroll from his arm. The blond put the scroll, which had a large circular design drawn onto it, on the ground, and began moving the contents of the vault and placing the valuables on top of the scroll. Rowan quickly moved forward to help him, and they were done in only a few seconds.

Naruto placed his hand on the scroll, and suddenly everything they'd just piled on disappeared. This time, Rowan wasn't as surprised, as he'd seen things appear and disappear in the blond's presence several times now. The pair stood up, preparing to leave before Naruto caught a glimpse of something atop Charlos' desk.

"I think," he said, "that I've figured out the perfect gift to give to these _Nobles_."

He walked over, grabbing the item from the desk. The collar was identical to the one he'd pulled from Rowan's neck, except this one was not locked.

Rowan shivered in excitement and anticipation. "No way," he denied, surely his rescuer wouldn't do _that?_

"Too late, I've already decided," he said, bringing the collar over to the unconscious World Noble.

He latched it around the man's neck, the ends connecting with a satisfying 'click'. Leaning forward, he traced a few seals along the metal collar and channeled his Chakra into them, watching in satisfaction as they glowed and the collar mimicked what Rowan's had done minutes earlier. He leaned back, removing his finger from the seal without pulling the collar with him this time.

"Why'd you do it for him, too?" Rowan asked.

Naruto looked back at him and smiled. Though Rowan couldn't see the smile, he could tell by the tilt of Naruto's head that that was precisely what he was doing.

"If it works, no one but me will be able to touch it, even though they can see it," he explained, "And it's not gonna come off, either."

Rowan couldn't help it; he laughed. He was sure that, had he been in Naruto's position, he would have wanted to kill the abominable man, but this punishment somehow seemed worse.

"I'm glad you like it," Naruto said. "Now, let's get to the next building, before that Admiral shows himself."

* * *

Naruto wasn't sure about his choice for their next hit. So far, the inside of this mansion was wildly different that the others he and his clones had been in. Most of the furniture was covered in sheets, and there were layers of dust that shouldn't have been present in the home of someone that forced their slaves to clean for them. He could only sense one individual in the house, yet another drastic difference. The others had their slaves in what appeared to be some sort of basement or dungeon underneath their houses, each facility fairly similar among the Noble's.

This mansion… had none. Not a single other person could be felt within. It almost made Naruto uneasy; something was definitely wrong. He and Rowan made their way deeper into the building, Naruto hiding his nervousness from his younger accomplice.

Finally, when they were right outside of the room that Naruto felt the individual to be, he created a clone and told Rowan to wait with it while he went ahead. Rowan wasn't happy about it, but knew that Naruto must have a good reason.

Naruto crept forward, easing through the doorframe, closing the door behind him. He took note of the man sitting and reading in a large chair in front of the burning fireplace, and that he didn't seem surprised or scared at his presence.

"So, you're the one that was terrifying Charlos a few minutes ago?" he asked, looking up from his book, his tone unidentifiable.

Naruto, not knowing how to respond, only shrugged. "I guess so," he said, "But how'd you know about that?"

"That fool broadcasted himself to everyone with our special Den Den Mushi over the emergency signal," he responded, surprising Naruto with the disrespect he showed to his fellow Celestial Dragon.

"You don't seem too upset about that."

"I'm really not. I do hope you didn't kill him, however. He'd never learn his lesson that way." Though he didn't say it outright, the question was there.

Naruto shook his head. "I didn't kill him, old man," he said, testing the waters by disrespectfully addressing the World Noble in front of him, "but I did rob him blind and stick one of those collars around his throat!"

The Noble's eyes bulged. "You did what?!" he blurted out, incredulous.

Again, Naruto shrugged. "It seemed fair to me," he said, not bothering to justify it any further.

"That," the dark-haired man stated, "is priceless."

Naruto grinned beneath his mask. It seemed like he'd finally run into the only decent World Noble in existence.

"You're different from the others," Naruto declared, "What's that about?"

"Before I get into that, I believe that I should introduce myself. To the world I am known as Saint Donquixote Mjosgard, though you may call me Mjosgard." He stood and, in a move entirely unlike a typical Celestial Dragon, stuck out his hand for Naruto to clasp.

Naruto hesitantly reached forward and shook the man's hand in greeting. "Naruto," he said. "Naruto Uzumaki."

The Noble seemed somehow put off by that, as though he'd been expecting something more.

"Something wrong with my name, old man? Naruto challenged. He didn't have a problem giving out his name, as there was absolutely nothing attached to it in this world, but the man apparently had some kind of issue with it.

"I was expecting… Never mind, I'll tell you when you leave." He replied. "So, I suppose that you're he're for my money?"

Naruto bobbed his head. "That was the plan, yeah," he said, "but I'd feel kinda bad robbing a guy like you."

Mjosgard waved him off. "I have more than I'll ever be able to use," he said, and it sounded like a complaint. "You may as well take some. It's the least that I can do for a person that has decided to challenge the authority of us Celestial Dragons."

"After all," he continued, "You probably only found Charlos' safe, right?" Naruto nodded. "Well, that money is basically his pocket change. Most of us have entire rooms dedicate to storing the stuff."

"That's disappointing," Naruto admitted. "I thought I was crippling the guy. But, you're just going to… give it to me?"

"I'm never going to use it all," he said, "It's not like I'll ever want for anything," he gestured around the room, alluding to the position he was in, living in a massive mansion.

"Speaking of," Naruto interrupted, derailing the topic of conversation. "Aren't you supposed to have slaves everywhere?"

Mjosgard sneered. "Humans don't have the right to own other humans. I used to be just like Charlos, years ago, but something happened that opened my eyes."

Naruto was shocked. The man was so… down-to-earth. He wasn't really prepared for this type of conversation; he'd become somewhat expectant of the behavior that Charlos had displayed.

Mjosgard shook his head. "You can't stay here; the Admiral is on his way. You can take as much as you'd like from the room down the hallway on the left," he directed. "All I use it for is buying and freeing slaves, and that barely makes a dent."

"Thanks, old man," Naruto said, flaring his Chakra to direct his clone to bring Rowan through to him. Seconds later, the child was upon his shoulders once more.

"Naruto," Mjosgard said seriously, "I told you that I would tell you before you leave. I expected you to have a certain initial, with the amount of chaos for the Nobles you've caused today."

"I have absolutely no idea what you mean," Naruto said, confused.

"The World Government fears those with the Will of D.," Mjosgard explained, "If you aim to get on their bad side, I suggest you introduce yourself as such."

"Like how?" Naruto asked, ignoring the now-squirming boy on his shoulders.

"Introduce yourself to that Admiral as Naruto D. Uzumaki," he suggested. "You'll scare the hell out of every one of the World Nobles. Coupled with your stunt tonight, you'll be the Boogeyman for years!" the man laughed, like he had just shared a good joke.

Naruto looked back at the man blankly, his face mirroring the mask it was covered by. "I still don't get it, but that initial is familiar. Have I seen it around before?"

Mjosgard nodded, the smile slowly leaving his face as he calmed down. "The Celestial Dragons are the only ones that remember what it means," he said, "but it appears quite frequently among people who have the ability to change the world. I'd explain if we had more time together, but that's the most important part."

"I'll keep it in mind," Naruto agreed. "You take care of yourself, old man."

"You, too, Naruto," Mjosgard responded, settling back down in his chair and opening his book once more.

Naruto and a silent Rowan left the room.

* * *

Naruto could feel the Admiral's presence on the outskirts of the city as he left the mansion with Rowan in tow.

He walked slowly but deliberately in the man's direction, filling Rowan in on what was about to occur as they walked. The streets were empty, all of the Celestial Dragons had holed themselves and their 'property' up as soon as Charlos' situation had been broadcasted to them all.

"It's gonna be much worse than the first time, it's okay if you get sick. I know I was the first time I tried it."

"I'm not going to be sick, I'll be fine!" the boy promised. Naruto chuckled. He'd eat those words in a few minutes.

After nearly a minute more at the same pace, Naruto stopped in the middle of an intersection of two roads. About twenty feet in front of him stood the tallest man that Naruto had seen in person as of yet, the man coincidentally having the most powerful presence he'd felt to match his height. The man's eyes were closed and Naruto wasn't sure if he was truly blind, or if it was an act.

"Hello there, young one," the man said in greeting. He had a kind voice, though there was a hint of steel to it.

"Does that mean I can call you 'old one'?" Naruto joked, seeking to set the tone of their inevitably brief meeting.

"You may call me Admiral Fujitora, or Issho. Might I know the name of the one I have been ordered to subdue?"

"Woah, woah woah," Naruto said, motioning non-threateningly with his hands. "I just came to talk! And the name's Naruto," he thought back to his conversation with Mjosgard, "Naruto D. Uzumaki."

"Well met, Mr. Uzumaki. We can talk, though I'm afraid we'll have to make it short. I'm on a bit of a schedule, you see."

"Of course," Naruto agreed. "I wouldn't want to take up any more of your time than I have to."

Fujitora smiled. "So what is it you've gotten yourself up to over here, I wonder?" His hand tightly gripping the top of his cane, though Naruto could easily tell that the cane doubled as some sort of bladed weapon.

"Well, I visited some of the Nobles, freed a horde of children, stole so much Beli that I can't even count it, and I even helped that Charlos guy accessorize! Really, those bubbles look ridiculous, don't they?"

"I see," Fujitora said. "As much as I hate it, so close to the home of the World Government, I can not let this slide. I'm afraid," he lifted his cane into a two-handed grip, slowly releasing the blade from its sheath. "That you'll have to submit."

* * *

I'd like to clarify that the whole 'child collection' thing is 100% NOT sexual in nature. The nobles won't even breathe the same air as others, it's just not something that would be happening. I realize how it could sound, however, and I apologize for that. However, the fact that the nobles (canonically) _collect_ child slaves is, in a way, just as ridiculously creepy and terrifying, and I tried to make it so.

Rowan's name literally means 'little redhead'. I like it. He's going to be my sole persisting OC. You'll see what his deal is soon.


	8. Chapter Eight

_"I see," Fujitora said. "As much as I hate it, so close to the home of the World Government, I can not let this slide. I'm afraid," he lifted his cane into a two-handed grip, slowly releasing the blade from its sheath. "That you'll have to submit."_

* * *

As the sheath was slowly removed from the Admiral's sword, a cascade of varying pressures began to bombard Naruto. He'd kept a tight leash on his power before, apparently, as Naruto had not even an inkling of the true depths of it until now. Even then, it was clear that the man had already been the most powerful being he'd sensed in the world so far. Now that it was released, Naruto was certain that, while not nearly as refined, its raw strength rivalled some of the most powerful opponents he'd encountered in his own world, back in the Elemental Nations.

The second was a more physical feeling, almost the opposite of what he would normally attribute to the feeling of 'pressure'. He was beginning to feel weightless, as if, had he stopped channeling Chakra to his feet, he would float up into the air and lose control of himself completely. He looked around and realized that that was _exactly_ what would happen. Everything for as far as he could see that wasn't in some way attached to the ground was rising up, floating through the air lazily.

'_Is this… Gravity? Is the old man manipulating the gravity of the entire city?!_' he thought, bewildered. '_That's… completely unfair! Why do all of my opponents get to do that!_'

He could feel Rowan shaking like a leaf above him, and knew that the kid wouldn't stay conscious for long unless he did something to counteract the man's presence. So, he loosened a minor amount of the control that he had on his own strength, letting the soothing feeling of his Chakra wash over the boy. If he so chose, he could manipulate it to feel much the same way as the Admiral's: dominating and all-powerful. However, that's not what the situation at hand called for. He lifted Rowan off of his shoulders and set him on the ground, motioning at him to '_stay'_. He stuck the boy the the ground with a small application of his Chakra. It would be temporary, unlike his seals, but it would last long enough to do what he had to do.

He turned back to Issho and looked him in the face, drawing himself up to his full height. A deep breath later, he blinked, and his iris changed shape and color, bleeding from blue to amber, the pupil shifting from its normal form to that of a horizontal bar, signifying his ascent into Sage Mode.

The Admiral was looking his way peculiarly.

"This… usually works." He said after a few moments into their stare down. Such a thing couldn't last long between a one-eyed man and a blind one.

Naruto snickered. "I've got a lot of experience fighting bullshit powers like that, old man," he bragged. "You'll have to step your game up if you want to make me _submit_." The word 'submit' was said mockingly, and Fujitora's eyebrow twitched.

The man composed himself and nodded. "Very well," he straightened his back. "Then I suppose that I'll simply be forced to send you the other way."

"Watch out for the bystanders, yeah?" Naruto requested.

"Of course," Fujitora responded. "Even at the behest of the World Government, I would never harm an innocent child. Though," he said thoughfully, "that one feels familiar, somehow…"

The older man shook his head and began slowly walking towards Naruto, closing the sheath as slowly as he'd opened it. Naruto could feel the pressure of the gravity in the area reversing. It was incredibly disorienting. Even though he'd stuck himself to the ground, it hadn't lessened the weightlessness he'd been feeling. He got the feeling that Rowan would be feeling particularly queasy right about now.

The pressure continued to increase, but Naruto stood firm. All around the two powerful men, except in a small circle around the red-haired boy, the ground began to creak and crack. All of the debris that had originally floated upwards came crashing down, the simultaneous 'thump' echoing about the city.

Naruto whistled, even as the effects of the man's power unfolded around him. Thankfully, due to his physiology, he wasn't terribly affected. Had he still been human, it was likely that every bone in his legs would have been heavily fractured from braving the increased force of gravity. It still felt like he was being squeezed and pushed into himself.

"I gotta say, that's some ability you have, gramps," Naruto said jovially, ignoring the feeling.

The man came to a stop, sheathing his sword completely. All around him, huge dents in the ground appeared, the streets cracking and crashing into the sewer systems below. Through it all, Naruto remained outwardly unaffected.

'_His opener was to destroy the city. I don't think I'd like to stick around for the rest._' He thought.

"You," Fujitora addressed him, "are no Grand Line Pirate, are you?" he asked, refraining from continuing their battle.

"What, stamina not what it once was?" Naruto joked. "What happened to that talk of bringing me down?"

"I can tell that it will not be so simple. After all, you didn't even blink," the tall man replied.

Naruto peered at the man, squinting his lone eye thoughtfully. "How could you possibly know that? I'm certain that you're blind."

"I may be blind, but I see much more than I ever did with my eyes," he said cryptically. "Actually, that foxxy mask of yours hinders me quite a bit. How am I to see your face if it's attached to it like a second skin?"

That was freaky. There was no way that the man should have been able to tell such a thing from where he stood, and without sight to boot.

"I'm gonna ignore that 'seeing' comment," Naruto replied accusingly. "But it wouldn't be much of a mask if you could still identify me, no?" Naruto asked, stalling while his mind raced.

"No, I suppose not. I can tell, young man. You want to ask me something."

Naruto nodded, relaxing slightly at the man's more genial attitude. "Why'd you go and destroy the city you were sent to protect?"

The Admiral chuckled. "Appalling that you'd convince me of such a thing on purpose, Mr. Uzumaki. I'm but an old, blind man; how could I possibly know the layout of a city to which I've never been?"

"You did it on purpose?" Naruto asked in shock, reading between the lines.

"Even one in my position can feel petty every once in a while," he responded. "Now, I believe that I allowed you a single question." He gripped his sword once more, and this time it flashed out faster than most eyes could track. A black line of energy, _Haki?_, matching what he felt from Fujitora, accompanied the slash, flying through the air in Naruto's direction.

Naruto blinked at the move reminiscent to the Samurai from his home's Land of Iron, but stood his ground as he calculated its trajectory. The flying slash flew right past him and continued on to one of the large mansions in the city, neatly slicing off two of the four medieval corner turrets of the building.

"Oops," Issho said without much sincerity. "Silly me, I seem to have missed."

Naruto glanced at the damage but looked back at Admiral Fujitora sharply. "You're not really trying to capture me. Why?" He couldn't get a read on the old man. One minute, his voice was foreboding, the intent it conveyed seemingly clear. The next, his actions completely contradicted his words, or vice-versa! It was ridiculous!

"Why?" he repeated. "Now that's a loaded question, isn't it?"

"I don't have all night," Naruto, exasperated, said impatiently. "Plus," he looked around at the dark night sky, "it looks like it's past your bedtime."

The Admiral muttered something about 'youngsters', but Naruto elected to ignore the comment.

"I suppose that I'm grateful," he said. "I may be a Marine, but the Justice that many in our organization follow is not the Justice in which I believe."

Naruto waited for him to continue.

"The concept of Justice is a good one," he explained further, "But when this corrupt government is the one that declares right from wrong, the idea becomes flawed. You've done a good deed today, but not in the eyes of the World Government. Something that I've never been able to do myself. Each time I return here, I have to force myself to pretend that this city does not exist."

"I don't know what your motivations are, Mr. Uzumaki, but I thank you," he said. "Years ago," he went on, bringing one hand up to rest over his eyes, "I blinded myself to the atrocities in this world. I do not regret it, though it was done in a moment of cowardice."

"You took your own vision?" Naruto asked in clarification. It was a drastic thing to do.

"Like I said," Issho said, nodding, "I do not regret losing my sight. It allows me to focus on doing what I believe to be right, and it occasionally permits me to refrain from performing actions that I perceive to be wrong. My own form of Justice, you see. A blind man gets much leniency, after all."

Naruto shrugged. "I guess," is all he said in response. There wasn't much to say to something like that.

"Tonight I have elected to not participate in your capture, young man. Though, it may be difficult to explain myself. Leave, before reinforcements arrive and I am forced into action."

The invitation was good enough for Naruto.

"Not like I needed your permission, codger," Naruto said sarcastically, reaching down to pull a quiet Rowan into his arms.

"By the way," he said as an aside while he was preparing to leave, "That gravity of yours? Nothing new to me. A man I once fought used gravity to pull a meteor from the sky and throw it at me."

The Admiral looked back at him with a knowing smile upon his face. "Perhaps I'll try that out some time. Farewell, Naruto D. Uzumaki."

"I'll be seeing you, old man," Naruto gave him a two-fingered salute. Though Fujitora couldn't see, he got the impression of a devilish smile underneath the man's mask. "Next time we meet you gotta let me know how the Nobles liked my gift."

From one second to the next, the masked man had completely disappeared from Admiral Fujitora's senses, taking the child with him.

"What a pleasant young man," he said softly. He felt the presence of a few Vice Admirals and their crews approaching him from the direction he'd come from.

"Though I do wonder what-,"

Not even a second after he turned to leave, a cacophony of explosions reached his ears, the vibrations rattling his body, and half of the 'Holy Land' went up in flames.

_ "_I see," he said, his eyebrow twitching.

_ 'Just how am I going to explain this? That damn fox…'_

* * *

Since Naruto left, Shakky couldn't shake the foreboding feeling pitted deep within her gut. So much so that she'd decided to close her bar early for the night, and spend the rest of it trying her best to relax, floating on top of one of the Archipelago's famous resin bubbles just above the tree line.

She'd barely even known the kid for a day, and he'd somehow wormed his way into her heart. He strongly reminded her of the little she'd seen of Strawhat Luffy, the sort of 'nice' that was so rare and unexpected, and frankly, unencouraged, on the Grand Line. Except this one actually seemed to have a head on his shoulders.

She stopped herself before she began to sink too far into her worry. He'd promised that he would be safe, and from what he'd said and she'd seen, he seemed like the kind of person to try their hardest to keep to their word.

It was half-past eleven, and the sky was dark. The man-made lights of Saboady Archipelago lit up the island, but not so much that it obscured her vision. She looked to the place that she'd described to the blond, Mary Geoise, a few miles away atop the Red Line, and wrinkled her nose in disgust. She didn't know how her husband could stand letting such a thing stand, as powerful as he was. He'd always told her that it wasn't meant to be him, but never why.

As she stared, she thought she could make out bright lights coming from the Domain of the Gods. She blinked, attributing it to her imagination. Then the light expanded, and she looked closer. Squinting, from miles away, it was now clear to her that something was very wrong in 'the Holy Land'.

It was on fire.

And not a small house fire that may be the result of some accident. What seemed to be the _entire_ city was alight, a scene eerily reminiscent of a similar one years ago. It was too dark and she was too far away to tell, but she could imagine the amount of destruction likely present in the Celestial Dragons home city.

She caught herself before her jaw dropped.

"That damn kid!" she shouted, her voice reverberating around the mangrove forest.

* * *

"Well, get it off!" the obnoxious, snot-nosed Noble demanded.

Admiral Fujitora stood a few feet away from Saint Charlos impassively. He was dealing with the aftermath of Naruto D. Uzumaki's attack, a part of which was a fully grown man's temper tantrum.

"Lord Charlos," Issho said patiently, "As I've already said, there is nothing that I can do."

The Celestial Dragon screamed incoherently in rage.

"Perhaps one of the other Admirals may have more luck than I," he continued, "but to my senses, there is nothing there." It was true. The man was insisting that there was a slave collar around his neck, but Issho couldn't feel it whatsoever, even when he exerted his Haki as much as he was able. It was baffling.

"It's right here, look at it! Are you blind?"

Fujitora's eyebrow twitched. "Yes, Lord Charlos."

That momentarily stopped the Noble's rampage. "What is a blind man doing as an Admiral?" he demanded.

Just then, the white-clad man that had answered Charlos' distress call entered the room in which the two were interacting.

"Be calm, nephew," the old, bald elder commanded. Immediately, Charlos acquiesced, ceasing his tantrum. "We will find a way to rid you of that disgusting object. Do not blame Admiral Fujitora for his… shortcomings, he makes up for them where it counts."

He turned to the large Admiral. "You are dismissed, Fujitora. We have your report, and you know your next assignment. Go."

Issho inclined his head to the man and left the room. Only when he was clear of the city did he let the content smile that had been threatening to break free form on his face. His decision to let Naruto D. Uzumaki go free was already paying off.

* * *

"So…" Bartolomeo said, breaking the silence that had begun as soon as Naruto entered Grove 41. "Who's your miniature?"

Naruto looked back to Rowan, noticing the Anbu fox mask still on his face, now aware that he'd forgotten to take both of them off. The uncomfortable silence made a little more sense.

He chuckled and removed his before moving to take Rowan's off as well. The boy couldn't channel Chakra, so he wouldn't be able to release the seal on the mask.

"This is Rowan," he introduced the boy that was peering at the menacing looking green-haired Pirate warily. "He'll be tagging along with me, that good?"

Bartolomeo stared for a moment longer, taking in the boy's massively bruised appearance before deciding to ignore it. "It's usually a rule that a pirate's not supposed to bring their kid along with 'em, but I've never cared much for rules," he said, waving in an unconcerned manner, "Go ahead, it's not like the trip's a long one."

Naruto shook his hands in front of him in denial of the claim. "He's not mine," he said weakly, looking over at Rowan. "I'm just… Taking care of him for now, I guess."

Rowan was upset at being talked about like he wasn't there. "I'm not a kid, weird-hair," he said petulantly.

Bartolomeo's hands shot up to his hair and his face fell in dejection. "It's not weird," he mumbled. Rowan almost looked sorry.

"You said we were meeting here for a reason, Captain?" Naruto interrupted, using the man's title to accomplish two things: raise his spirits once more, and conspicuously introduce who he was to Rowan.

The Pirate Captain immediately brightened. "Right!" he declared. "A very important reason!"

He swept his hand around, gesturing to the port-section of the Grove they were in, which contained two ships. "What about this picture is off to you?" he asked.

Naruto had no idea, but Rowan did.

"Why are there two Pirate Ships? They shouldn't be docked so near each other," he answered.

Usually pirate crews refrained from docking near each other to prevent unnecessary conflict. The exceptions were allied crews, and crews that were going out of their way to incite conflict.

"Good eye, kid!" Rowan blushed. "Well, you see, the ship on the far end is ours. Pretty plain, huh?" he asked good-naturedly.

It really wasn't. It looked pretty awesome to Naruto, with a black, red and yellow color scheme painted on the wood, and deep maroon sails. The Jolly Roger on the main sail was incredibly reminiscent of Bartolomeo himself; the skull had bright green hair around it. Naruto thought it looked pretty awesome.

Rowan frowned at the attitude that Bartolomeo had for his own ship. Before he'd been captured, he'd watched his idol sail away from his home island in a dinky little boat – barely even that, in Rowans eyes, yet even though it wasn't meant to carry him forever, the teen had treated it well when he had it. The casual disrespect Bartolomeo had for his own, full-fledged ship was a little upsetting.

The Captain noticed the look and grinned. "I know," he said, "I shouldn't treat my ship like that, huh?"

Rowan just stared unblinkingly back at him.

"It's not actually our ship, really. We stole it a few months back after our first ship was sunk by the marines," he explained. "And we're replacing it in a few days. We haven't had much time to get acquainted."

"At least that's a little better," Rowan said finally.

Naruto was watching the exchange with confusion. Rowan seemed to know so much more about ships and Pirates than he did. He wondered why?

"I don't hate my ship," Bartolomeo continued, "But next to the Thousand Sunny, it's nothing!" he declared reverently, looking to the other ship in the Grove.

"Thousand Sunny?" Naruto asked. Rowan was looking at the immaculate ship with the same level of confusion.

"Sometimes," Bartolomeo said dramatically, laying the back of his hand to his forehead, "it's difficult being the greatest fan of the Strawhats. You ordinary people know nothing of what I do."

Somehow, Naruto thought, eyebrow twitching, everything always came back to the Strawhats with this guy. He needed help.

"This," he said, dancing slightly closer to the ship. He quickly retreated when a hulking figure on the deck of the ship began to rise to his feet. "Is the ship of the Strawhat Pirates, The Thousand Sunny!"

Bartolomeo was right about one thing: next to the Thousand Sunny, his ship really was lacking. To Naruto, who knew absolutely nothing about ships, it was still beautiful, a work of art. Visibility was low at that time of night, but that much was obvious, at least. Although… it didn't really have the 'intimidating' vibe he'd expected of a Pirate's Ship, though that sort of aligned with what he'd heard of the much-liked crew.

The sails were furrowed, so the Jolly Roger was hidden. There wasn't a smaller one atop one of the masts, though he expected that was more for stealth's sake than anything else. According to Bartolomeo and Shakky, the crew would be making a reappearance soon. It was incredible that their ship was left untouched as it was, though Naruto attributed that to the intimidating, massive man seated on the deck that had sprung to life when Bartolomeo got too close. From the little he could see at this distance, the man had seen better days; he was rather beaten down. However, his presence had still been enough to keep even Bartolomeo from getting closer to his idol's ship, and Naruto could tell that the captain was no pushover. He must have been protecting the ship since the Strawhats had disappeared.

Speaking of his presence, it was unlike anything had ever felt. It didn't feel human, and it didn't feel like a beast. Strangely, it felt cold and hard, almost dead, but simultaneously extremely large and powerful. Not nearly as massive as Admiral Fujitora, but enough that it took Naruto a moment to connect the presence with the image of the bruised and bloodied man.

He shook his head, intent on ignoring the strange phenomenon.

As he further studied the boat, he noticed that it had trees growing on it, the most unique feature in his mind. He resolutely decided that his ship would _definitely_ be decorated with nature in the same way.

After the declaration about the Strawhats, Rowan began looking, starry-eyed, at the ship.

"That's _Luffy's_ ship?" he asked incredulously.

Both Naruto and Bartolomeo turned to stare at the boy.

"You know him/Captain Luffy?" they asked simultaneously.

Rowan stilled, wiping the expression of wonder from his face. "No?" he responded, not very convincingly. Bartolomeo bought it immediately, but Naruto studied his face further, before deciding not to pry.

"Of course you wouldn't know Captain Luffy," Bartolomeo said haughtily, "As if a little kid like you would have met him before _me_."

"Yeah, there's no way," Rowan chuckled nervously.

"Captain!" a voice from the direction of the Barto Club's ship called. Gambia was waving, his silhouette clear due to the lights of the ship behind him. "It's time!"

Bartolomeo pouted, the look ridiculous for a man dubbed 'Cannibal' for his obtrusive, sharp teeth. "But I wanted more time with the Thousand Sunny," he whined.

"You're the Captain, why don't you just make them wait?" Rowan asked.

Said Captain shook his head. "'Cause he's right," he said, "We wanted to leave earlier, but your _friend_," he glanced at Naruto who was looking around innocently, "apparently had business to do around the island." He missed the shake of his head that Naruto gave to Rowan when it looked as though the boy was going to pipe up about what exactly that 'business' was. Instead, the red-head simply nodded in acceptance.

The trio joined the rest of the Barto club on the deck of their ship, Naruto looking at the ground in disgust. "What the hell, man?" he asked.

"What?" Naruto's question took Bartolomeo by surprise.

"Why's there gum all over the deck?"

Rowan looked at the floor of the deck and grimaced. It would be worse for him because he didn't have any shoes to wear.

"You didn't know?" Gambia butted in.

"No, I didn't know that there was gum all over the deck of your ship," Naruto deadpanned.

"Not that," Gambia waved away the angry response, "I meant, you didn't know that gum gets rid of sea-sickness?"

Naruto stared incredulously at the dead-serious face of the Captain and his First Mate. "So what? You couldn't be bothered to throw out your gum? You live on the Ocean, just spit it off the side!"

Gasps of shock arose among the present crew, and the two most prominent members looked scandalized.

"What is wrong with you?" Gambia demanded.

"Why would you ask us to litter like that? You're despicable!" the Captain added. Rowan was laughing into his arm.

"But… never mind." he gave up. Why would they care about littering?

"Just because we're lawless bastards doesn't mean we don't care about the environment!" Gambia shouted, his captain nodding along with him.

"Forget I said anything," Naruto said more finally, done with the ridiculousness of the crew for the night. It had been a long one for him. Thankfully, Rowan chose that moment to intervene, as the boat slowly started pulling away from the Grove. Around them, various unnamed members of the Barto Club rushed to and fro, setting the ship up for departure.

"Captain Bartolomeo," Rowan asked, "Do you have a Den Den Mushi?"

The Captain turned to the kid. "Yeah, we do. What, wanna talk to mom?" he teased.

"Bartolomeo," Naruto said forcefully, ripping the man's attention away from the ex-slave and back to him. When the Captain looked to him, he shook his head icily, glaring into the man's eyes. He appeared confused for a moment before shrugging.

"It's in the Captain's Quarters," he said to Rowan, "Follow me, I'll take you back there," he said.

"It's gonna be a private call, isn't it, Rowan," Naruto asked the boy, hinting to the Captain.

He nodded, little pinpricks of moisture barely visible in the corner of his unbruised eye.

"Man, you sure are demanding a lot," Bartolomeo complained. "But helping you is getting me on that cheapskate's good side, so it's worth it in my eyes. C'mon kid, you can have your call." Rowan smiled softly and left with the Captain. Soon, other than the various Barto Club members too busy manning the ship to stop and converse, it was just Gambia and Naruto on the gum-ridden deck.

"So…" Naruto said awkwardly, looking for a way to start the conversation again. Gambia still looked fairly upset from the gum conversation earlier. "You ever had Ramen?"

* * *

"It was a direct attack on our authority! This 'Naruto' is mocking us!"

The Five Elders had reconvened to discuss the newest threat to the World. One 'Naruto D. Uzumaki.'

"Not only that, this one carries the 'Will of D.'." the tallest Elder stated, agreeing with the statement made by his peer, a man with a long white mustache and liver spots upon his bald head.

"His name has never appeared before, where did he come from?" demanded another, this one short and stocky with a had over his grey hair.

"I do not deny that he is a threat," the white-clothed elder stated calmly. "However, you are all forgetting one important fact: we have absolutely no idea what he looks like. He wore a mask, and not once did he remove it. We weren't even able to acquire a photo as he, I might reiterate, _escaped an Admiral _too quickly for such a thing to happen."

The other elders listened intently.

"All that Charlos remembers is that the mask had the design of a fox on it. All that we have is that, and his name. Placing a bounty on a masked individual is difficult, we have to be wary of fraud."

They nodded. Such a thing had occurred in the past.

"What if," the youngest of the Elders finally spoke up, his gruff voice demanding the other's attention, "As planned, what if we release a separate bounty for the information about his identity, but label his own bounty 'Alive Only' instead of 'Dead or 'Alive'? We need him to reverse what he has done to Charlos, after all."

"That seems reasonable," the eldest nodded, the others agreeing with his assessment. "The last bounty placed for an assault on Mary Geoise was egregiously low, thanks to Fisher Tiger's status as non-human. However, this individual has Devil Fruit abilities. We know that he is human. He is skilled enough to escape Fujitora, who we know to be extremely capable. Finally, he carries the Will of D. I propose that we use the figures discussed earlier, and no less."

As one, the Elders stood from their luxurious chairs, a sign of unanimous agreement. Had they been certain of his identity, his bounty would have been higher. As it was, they could barely explain away such a ridiculously enormous starting bounty without losing face for the partial destruction of Mary Geoise. This would have to do. If his identity was discovered, the bounty would ensure that he would be hunted for the rest of his life.

* * *

Apologies for the lack of a fight in this chapter. I don't want Naruto's first on-screen fight to be one with an Admiral, it wouldn't allow me to ramp my story up at all. He'd already be fighting at the peak of the One Piece world's powers by chapter 8 if that happened, and I would have nowhere to go. He will be fighting someone (a mean someone) rather powerful in the coming chapters, though I guarantee that absolutely none of you will be able to guess who it will be, or why...

Also, I retract what I originally said about Rowan. I want him to be more permanent and prominent. I like who he is. He'll be my tritagonist, behind Kurama and Naruto. I'm planning on adding more OCs, or at least... adding onto existing characters in the One Piece universe that were mentioned and then never seen again...


	9. Chapter Nine

This chapter is mainly filler. Explanation at the bottom.

* * *

I wish that I had a clone of myself so that when I get bored of writing a scene I could just pass the laptop over to him, and he'd finish writing for me. Sadly, that's 'unethical', or some nonsense.

* * *

"**We're far enough, brat. Let me out**." Kurama's deep voice, after almost a full day of silence, reverberated through Naruto's head.

Naruto, Rowan, and the Barto Club had been sailing for about seven hours, and the morning light was just starting to peak across the horizon. Bartolomeo had let Naruto know in advance that there was no sleeping space left, which hadn't worried the blond. After all, he didn't need nearly as much sleep as he used to. So, he unsealed the bedroll he always kept with him, and laid it out for Rowan when he saw the kid falling asleep on his feet. Rowan had looked up at him gratefully and clamored into the makeshift bed, immediately drifting off without another word.

A steady rotation of new crew members had streamed around the deck, keeping the ship on course through the night while the others slept, and Naruto had taken to studying them as they performed their duties. Eventually, he gave up. There were a number of actions being performed that he was certain were important to the running of the ship, but he couldn't figure out, for the life of him, what their purposes were. And he didn't want to interrupt the crew to ask. He could learn what he needed from the shipwrights in Water 7 while his ship was being built.

"Oh?" Naruto responded, faking hurt. "You're finally talking to me?" he asked, though he was already holding his hand to the seal over his chest.

"Space is a little tight," he said more seriously as he channeled Chakra into the seal. "You're gonna have to keep it small."

A grumpy growl was his only response as his partner slowly reformed on the deck of the ship, a horse-sized mass of energy coalescing into his miniaturized form. One he was fully released from the seal, he quickly pranced from the gum-riddled deck to the cleaner railing, a look of disgust evident on his vulpine face. His appearance garnered a few suspicious looks from the on-duty crew, but the two ignored them.

The miniature Bijuu took stock of his surroundings, and his small size in comparison to what he was used to. In his true form, he would be larger than the entire ship.

Kurama winced. "**This is humiliating**," he stated from his place atop the railing.

Bartolomeo chose that moment to appear, likely woken by one of the crew members upon Kurama's sudden appearance on the ship.

"The hell you got a fox for, Uzumaki?" the Captain asked bluntly. Kurama glared at him.

"**I don't like him,"** he said frostily.

Bartolomeos mouth dropped open and his eyes went wide. "It talks!" he screeched, frantically looking back and forth between Naruto and the talking fox.

Naruto laughed at the comical Pirate Captain. "Yeah, _he_ talks. This is Kyuubi, the partner that I mentioned before," Naruto explained.

Bartolomeo looked skeptical. "I expected a giant or something from how you were talkin' him up," he said. "Not this little guy,"

"**I'm going to eat him."**

"He's doing us a favor, don't eat him," Naruto sighed. "Bartolomeo, please don't disrespect my friend. He's much more than he currently looks."

"I'll take your word for it," the green-haired man said, not very convinced. "But where's he been this whole time? I didn't see him anywhere on the Archipelago, and he didn't board the ship with you."

"**Don't ask**," Kurama muttered angrily.

Naruto laughed again at his partner's embarrassment. "Oh, shut it, bastard. You know you missed being in me."

Both Kurama and Bartolomeo went bug-eyed, and Kurama shouted at his blond companion. "**Don't say it like that!"**

The outburst startled Naruto. "Say it like what?" he asked.

"I'm… not even going to try to unpack that," Bartolomeo said, turning away from the duo. This was too much for him, so early in the morning. "Good meeting you, Kyuubi. I guess."

The Captain retreated to his quarters, leaving the two to their devices. The members of the Barto Club that had overheard the loud conversation were now keeping a good distance between themselves and the pair.

"What did I do wrong?" he asked Kurama.

The fox glared at the Ninja and thumped him on the head, hard, with one of his tails.

* * *

"That…" Naruto gazed at the scene before him, "is the coolest city I've ever seen."

It was out, and Naruto couldn't take it back. Even Konoha, his beloved home village, wasn't as beautiful.

Water 7 was true to its name. It was built in the shape of a volcano, of sorts, though it would be more appropriate to call it a 'water volcano'. Its peak was a massive fountain that was currently spewing out a steady stream of water, which was flowing down the sides into what appeared to be waterways and canals that lined the city. The excess water poured out of the raised city through numbered channels along its exterior walls and into the ocean below.

"It's pretty neat, huh?" asked Bartolomeo, who was standing on the deck beside Naruto. Kurama was off sulking somewhere after one too many 'mini' jokes from Naruto. "Still, not my kind of place. It's _too_ nice." The Pirate captain's lip curled.

"I can imagine," Naruto responded sarcastically. He felt that Bartolomeo would be more at home in the seedy underground of a darker city. He was a former Kingpin, after all.

"We're gonna pull around back and go to Dock One," Bartolomeo told Naruto.

"Dock One?"

Bartolomeo nodded. "The Galley-La Company has a few different docks, but Dock One is for the more expensive orders. Mine is a special order, after all," he said snootily. "The Vice President of the company himself is working on it."

"So, would I go to one of those Docks to commission my own ship?"

. "Well, yeah," Bartolomeo said looking Naruto up and down for any sign of wealth, but the ninja didn't have so much as a full pocket. "But you have to put down a deposit up front, and that's a whole lot more than what you can carry on you."

Naruto chuckled. "I think I'll be fine. How expensive is your new ship, anyway?"

The Pirate Captain puffed up in pride. "Not that it's any of your business, asshole, but they've estimated Luffy-Go to be 250 million Beli."

"The… Luffy-Go? You named your ship after him?" Naruto asked, dumbfounded.

Bartolomeo nodded his head, a deep blush on his cheeks as he smiled happily.

"Aren't you worried that he'll be a little put off by that?"

Bartolomeo collected himself and waved the question off. "You'll just have to see it when it's done," he said. "If it turns out well, there's no way anyone could hate it!"

"Okay…" Naruto said wearily. Both he and Bartolomeo turned to the right as a flash of red passed by them. Kurama leapt off of the deck and on to the large, rocky shore that the ship had pulled around to hide their presence from any passing Marines.

"Your fox left." Bartolomeo stated the obvious.

"Not mine," Naruto countered absent-mindedly. "And he's probably just looking for somewhere to stretch out. I'll have to visit him later when I speak with Galley-La, he can take care of himself until then."

Bartolomeo shrugged. It wasn't his problem, anyway.

The ship finally docked after cruising for a few more minutes after Kurama had departed.

"Dock One, right?" Naruto asked rhetorically. Rowan had finally woken up, somehow having slept for hours after the majority of the crew had awoken and begun causing a ruckus. The boy had packed the bedroll up for Naruto, and the blond had promptly sealed it away, not anticipating returning to the ship.

He took Rowan's shoulder and winked at the boy, the action still not nearly as effective with one eye as he wished it to be, before turning back to Bartolomeo. "I'll meet you over there in a bit. Got something to do, first."

"Make sure to come in through the front, Uzumaki," the Captain said. "The shipwrights don't take well to intruders."

"I'll keep that in mind," Naruto said, giving a small wave before he and Rowan blurred from existence.

* * *

Naruto felt Rowan shiver as they arrived at the back entrance to the city in a _Shunshin_. He figured that Rowan would get used to the feeling eventually, but doing so after only a few applications of the Jutsu was unheard of. It had taken even Naruto, someone with an incredible constitution, days of practice before he left behind the dizziness and queasiness that plagued new users of the technique.

He decided to voice his praise out loud.

"You're getting used to this pretty quickly," he complimented.

Rowan shook his head. "It doesn't feel good but I gotta have a strong stomach if I'm gonna be sailing, right?"

Naruto grimaced as he remembered the reason for all of the gum on the deck of the Barto Club's ship. "I- Yeah. Some people just aren't meant for it," he said. "You seem like you're on the right track, though."

Rowan blushed and looked down.

"Hey, now. None of that," Naruto said. "You gotta be more sure of yourself, too, if you wanna sail."

The red-haired boy nodded in agreement. "I know," he said, "I'm just not used to…"

Naruto looked sadly at the ex-slave. He may be free now, but his captivity would have a lasting impact on him for his entire life. If nothing else, the brand over his stomach proved that.

"You'll get there," he reassured Rowan warmly. He received a sad smile in return.

* * *

They didn't have to look for more than a few minutes to find what he was searching for. It figured, that in a world full of pirates and treasure, there would be fairly accessible Beli and treasure-exchange locations. He didn't expect it to be that easy, as after turning down the first street he was met with the sight of a large, ornamental building with a sign that read 'Beli Cashing' in gold letters on the front. He grinned and reached over to his tattooed wrist.

A 'poof' of smoke enveloped the arm, and he removed a few burlap sacks, handing two to Rowan as they appeared. The ones that Rowan held weighed him down quite a bit, though as it became clear to him that Naruto was holding his with ease, he tried hide his struggle as best as he could. They approached and entered the gaudy building, and were met with a small crowd of people inside.

There were a few different booths set up, employees on one side, customers on the other, with a metal cage barrier between them. Leading away from the booths was a large hallway, likely where the desk workers occupied, as well as where the high-rollers were brought to do business. The color scheme of the room was somewhat garish to Naruto's eyes; off-white walls and green furniture was an odd combo in his opinion. Not that it mattered, as he'd hopefully only need the one visit.

He held the door open for Rowan to pass through, and together they approached one of the booths that wasn't busy with a customer.

"Hello, gentlemen," an overly sweet voice greeted them as they grew near. "Welcome to Beli Cashing Services, how may I be of assistance?"

The employee behind the booth was an exceptionally large woman with green hair and a face painted on with makeup. The smile she was sporting seemed forced. Naruto grimaced when he spotted her clothing; even they, being dark green and white, and fell in line with the building's color scheme.

Despite his reservations, he answered politely. "We're here to make an exchange."

"Delightful," she said as she began filling out a form on the desk in front of her. "And what is it you wish to exchange?"

Naruto looked around the room warily. He had absolutely no idea of the worth of the item's he'd swindled from the Celestial Dragons, though he knew it was beyond 'a lot'. "If it's all the same to you," he said, drawing her attention up from the form she on which she was writing, "I'd like to do my business in private."

He discreetly shook the bags in his hands, and, without prompting, Rowan did the same. The woman, likely used to such noises, quickly identified the likely contents of the containers.

Her grin grew remained, though a vein bulged in her forehead as she grabbed the paper, balled it up, and threw it in the direction of the trashcan behind her. It didn't go in.

"Certainly, sir," she said, not losing the smile. It was almost scary. "I'll contact an appraiser to assist you. Please take a seat while you wait." She pointed at the green couches between the small, indoor-trees against the wall in the hallway. "He will be with you shortly."

The duo retreated to the couch, relieved. Something was wrong with that woman.

Rowan voiced Naruto's opinion out loud. "What was wrong with her? I don't think she blinked…" he whispered.

Naruto shook his head, motioning for the boy to drop it. "I don't know, Rowan, but I'm glad that we don't have to work with her." He shivered.

A few minutes went by, and Naruto began tapping his foot impatiently. It didn't bother Rowan, but it was earning him glares from other customers, and, most notably, the green-haired woman that had helped them before. The looks she was sending their way were positively evil.

A door opened down the hallway, and two men exited the room. One was dressed more casually, likely a customer, and had a small container in his hand. The other was dressed more professionally, wearing a white button-down shirt and, thankfully, grey pants. A deep black mustache was set prominently on his thin face. He was all smiles as he led his customer down the hallway and said his farewells.

Only when the customer was gone from the building did the mustache-man turn to Naruto and Rowan. He looked at them critically, pouring his eyes over their faces, likely looking for any hint of familiarity. After all, they regularly receive wanted Pirates in their establishment, looking to pawn off stolen treasure, and it wouldn't do to have one known for their violence in an enclosed space with him. After a few seconds of study, Naruto stood up and stuck out his hand in greeting.

"Name's Naruto," he said, choosing to leave his full name out of the greeting. Mustache-man shook his hand firmly. "And this is Rowan."

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance," he said, his voice deep and clear. "I am Ishigo Shitemanna, the chief appraiser here at Beli Cashing Services. Please, follow me."

Rowan looked up at Naruto, who nodded to him. They both followed the man to the room that had just been occupied minutes earlier. In it, there were two blue couches made from a material that Naruto couldn't identify sitting on either side of a large, sturdy, wooden table. Ishigo took a seat in the far-couch, and Rowan and Naruto occupied the closer one. The two placed the burlap sacks on the surface of the table. Naruto leaned back, and Rowan, seeing the movement, copied the blond a moment later.

"So!" Ishigo clapped his hands together. "What is it you've brought to me?" he asked in a friendly manner.

Naruto leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands together underneath his chin. "Well, Mr. Shitemanna," he began, "I'd like to begin our discussion with the fact that I am new to the Beli system." Ishigo looked slightly confused at that admission. "I come from a place that doesn't use Beli, and so, over the last few days, I have been trying to familiarize myself with it." The Appraiser nodded, now understanding. It happened, though he hadn't met such a person in years. "My companion, however, knows the system rather well." Naruto nodded to Rowan who sat up straight.

"I understand, Naruto, Rowan," Ishigo said, nodding to each of them in turn. "I will do my best to assist you."

Naruto could tell that while that was mostly the truth, he'd still have to be careful. The man was an employee here, after all, and would likely take actions that would benefit the company as much as possible. Which meant playing down the value of his haul.

"Thank you," Naruto said. "Also, I'm curious. Is there a Beli counting service here?"

Odd question. "Of course, we must be able to tally up Beli in order to properly compensate our customers," Ishigo responded.

"And, if I wish to have my own Beli counted, is there an associated fee?"

Ishigo nodded. "There is a flat rate of one per one thousand Beli counted."

Naruto took a moment to try to do the calculation in his head. He had plenty, it would be an acceptable loss if it meant he could put a figure to it.

"And how long would it take?"

Ishigo sighed. This customer was asking a lot of questions before they'd even begun. "No time at all. The Beli is counted using an extremely precise scale. Using that figure, we are able to determine the number, with a very low rate of error."

Narito grinned. "Sweet. In that case, Let's get started." He upended his two bags and the countless jewels that he'd stolen from the World Nobles were strewn across the table.

Ishigo stared dumbly at the piles. "Wh-,"

Rowan did the same with his own bags, and an equal amount of jewelry clattered from within. Anything from plain gemstones to extravagant jewelry now decorated the table. The sunlight streaming through the open windows glittered among the piles, and when Naruto looked up from them and at Ishigo, he would swear that the man's eyes had taken on the shape of the symbol for Beli. He blinked, and the illusion was gone.

The appraiser coughed lightly into his fist. "Well," he said, and his voice was a little big higher in pitch than it was previously. "It will take some time, but there shouldn't be any difficulties. Would you like to stay here, or…" he trailed off, obviously hoping that Naruto could choose the latter.

However, the blond only grinned in response. This time, it was more shark-like than before, and instead of encouraging the employee it frightened him.

"I think that I'll stay."

Ishigo gulped. "Of course, sir."

A very boring few hours later, and the deed was done. A ridiculously lengthy stretch of paper was laid across the entire room, it's contents detailing the specifics of Naruto's treasure, and tallying up the total value.

In the end, the total stunned even Naruto, especially considering that what had been counted out was only the raw materials and not the actual stacks of Beli that he'd plundered, or, in the case of Mjosgard, been given.

He'd, at the behest of his younger companion, decided to forgo counting the remainder of his Beli, if only to prevent the establishment from growing even more suspicious of him. They surely already believed him to be some runaway Noble.

"And you're sure that you aren't able to tell us where this came from?" Ishigo asked once more, his voice sickly sweet.

"For the last time, no." Naruto replied flatly as he and Rowan made their way down the hallway, each rolling a large trunk behind them.

Ishigo sighed, forlorn. "Well, I suppose. Mr, Naruto, Mr. Rowan, feel free to return any time you need to make an exchange! We're always happy to welcome such distinguished guests!"

Naruto waved him off. "Of course. And the next time we visit, we'll be sure to ask for you." Not that he planned to return.

That seemed to please the man, and at that point, he finally allowed Naruto and Rowan to leave.

"Bye!" Rowan called, waving his hand energetically. Naruto smiled fondly at the action. Walking away from an exchange with over a billion Beli would excite anyone, let alone a nine-year-old kid.

* * *

After stopping and asking an elderly couple for directions, Naruto and Rowan were making a beeline for Dock One of the Galley-La company. Rowan and, admittedly, Naruto wanted to look around at the foreign city, but doing so with the amount of Beli they had between them just wasn't safe. Naruto could have sealed it away, but making a large sum of Beli appear from thin air in front of someone was a suspicious thing to do.

Thirty minutes and a series of twists and turns later, and they came upon a massive set of stone doors with the number '1' painted on the front. Oddly enough, only a wooden fence separated the dock from the outside on either side of the stone doors, which seemed to defeat its purpose. All along the fence flocks of people were hooting and hollering, shouting at something within the confines of the Dock. Listening closer, it sounded as though they were cheering on the Galley-La Shipwrights, though he didn't understand why.

He strolled forward past the crowd of onlookers and casually pushed the stone door open, not breaking his stride despite the size and weight of the door. Rowan followed behind him, quietly ignoring the gawks that Naruto was receiving for his apparent feat of strength.

He closed the door before the slew of people could spill in behind him, and he turned to inspect the yard. All around were large, neat piles of lumber, some even being moved about through the air by pulley, swinging precariously over the heads of all the workers bustling back and forth. More impressive to Naruto was the elaborate piece of machinery built around a canal, likely part of the ship-building process, in front of which he spotted Bartolomeo speaking animatedly with a Galley-La employee. He began walking in that direction, Rowan following only slightly behind him, before he was stopped by a huge man, nearly the size of Issho, who was the largest individual Naruto had yet come across.

The man was shirtless and had an interesting tattoo over his left pectoral. An extensive grey beard obscured the lower part of his face, so much so that Naruto almost missed his mouth moving when he began to speak.

"What's your business here, boy?" the man's gruff voice boomed. It was as scratchy as his beard, and every word was yelled full force.

Naruto craned his neck to look the larger man in the eyes. He pointed past the man towards the green-haired Pirate Captain.

"We're with him," he said simply. He then looked back to the trunks that he and Rowan were toting. "And, we're also here on our own business."

The muscular man relaxed and smiled – maybe – at Naruto. "Well, why didn't you say so?" he asked, ignoring the fact that he hadn't really given Naruto the chance. "Welcome to Dock One. I'm one of the foremen around here, you can call me Tilestone!" Still his yelling persisted, and Naruto figured that it was just a part of his personality.

"Naruto," Naruto shook Tilestone's hand, matching his grip much to the man's surprise. "Speaking of it, Tilestone, who would I talk to about a ship?"

"Well," he shouted thoughtfully. "You looking to buy or build one?"

Naruto laughed, thinking of Kurama's massive self being crammed into one the average ships that would be lying around for sale. "Definitely build. Something big, too."

"Usually I'd be able to help ya," he said. "But I'm busy with your friend's ship right now. Paulie should be available when they're done talkin, you should head over there to them."

Naruto assumed that Paulie was the one that was speaking with Bartolomeo. "Thanks, Tilestone," he said, and the man nodded before walking off.

"You ready, kid?" Naruto asked Rowan who had been quiet since they entered the Dock. The boy looked confused.

"Ready for what?"

Naruto cocked an eyebrow. "You heard him. We're going to talk about getting our ship built," he said. "I'm gonna need help with that, and so far it seems like you know more about boats than I do."

"_I'm _helping you with _your_ ship?" Rowan asked incredulously.

"_Our_ ship," Naruto corrected. "What, did you think I was gonna leave you here or something? I'm getting a ship big enough to fit my partner, there will be plenty of space for you."

"…No," Rowan muttered. "Anyway, how big could your partner possibly be? I didn't get to see him on Captain Bartolomeo's ship."

Naruto's lone eye twinkled. "You'll just have to find out, won't you?"

When he and Rowan reached Bartolomeo and Paulie, their conversation looked to be at an end. In from of them were three thick pieces of paper, elaborate blueprints drawn on each. Naruto assumed that these were the plans for Bartolomeo's ship.

"Bartolomeo!" he called out in greeting.

The Captain turned around. "Uzumaki, you made it. And you, Rowan."

Paulie turned as well. "This the guy you said was looking for a ship?"

Naruto smiled. Bartolomeo had already paved the way for him. "Yep! Naruto Uzumaki, at your service."

"I heard you're broke," Paulie said bluntly. "Ships ain't cheap, how do you expect to pay up?"

Without hesitating, "I figured I'd just cash in Bartolomeo's bounty," he said, sounding completely serious.

The green-haired Pirate took a hasty step back, crossing his fingers. A light blue barrier sprung up around him in a cylindrical shape. Paulie looked tense, and even Rowan had taken half a step back.

"Geez," Naruto lamented. "You guys can't take a joke."

Bartolomeo's shoulders sagged in relief. "You shouldn't say that so seriously!" he scolded, whining. He was slow to release his barrier.

Naruto shrugged. "I thought it was funny," he said. "But in all seriousness, I have enough. Are you busy right now, Paulie?"

"You wanna start now?" the shaggy blond-haired man asked. "And here I thought I was going to get a break. Really, I never shoulda taken Iceburg up on that offer."

"If you're up for it, I have a few things I'd like to discuss beforehand," Naruto said.

"Oh?" Paulie replied. "Like what?"

Naruto glanced over at Rowan, remembering that he wanted to surprise the boy. "You'll see. Would you mind visiting the Pirate's Bay area with us? I have something to show you."

"Sure thing," Paulie saluted Naruto. "First I've got to check in with the boss. Meet me down there?"

Naruto nodded, and the Shipwright departed. Bartolomeo grabbed Naruto's attention and looked pointedly at the trunks that he and Rowan were lugging around.

"So, went shopping?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Needed some clothes, y'know?"

"Clothes. Right," Bartolomeo deadpanned. "I won't pry."

He looked back in the direction of his ship. "All the workers in Dock One are working on my Luffy-Go," he said happily. "He'll be done in a few days." He held out a slip of paper to Naruto. "Here's my Den Den info, if we don't see each other before then. Make sure to call me when you've gotten your own. You still owe me a favor, after all."

Naruto took the paper and nodded at Bartolomeo. "Don't worry, I will. Take care, Cannibal," he said fondly. Once he'd warmed up to the Ninja, he'd become a good friend, though they'd only known each other for a few days.

The blond and the redhead left Dock One, making their way back to where they'd landed on the island.

* * *

This was originally only going to be the first half of Chapter Nine, but something came up - I've been studying over the known layouts of One Piece pirate ships and actual ships, learning all the terms and titles, etc. so that I could create a more convincing ship. However, when writing it down, it became unnecessarily jargon-y, and awkward to read. I'm trying to work it out, but it's taking me a bit. Next chapter will be up before Sunday, though.

* * *

We'll be seeing Naruto's bounty soon. After his ship, story begins to take off. He'll be mobile without relying on others.


	10. Chapter Ten

NEW NOTICE(11/1): I was editing something in this chapter last night at around 1:30 or so and only after I uploaded the edits did I realize that I somehow accidentally pasted a large part of my research proposal into it (which I had been working on at the same time, though I still don't know how I managed to do so). I was too tired to deal with it, so I just deleted the chapter and went to sleep. It's back up and normal now. I won't force you all to read about the history of gentrification and urbanization in Baltimore City.

* * *

This chapter was painful to write, read, and revise. Just an all-around bad time. Hope you guys enjoy it more than me. Thankfully I won't have to do something like this for a while, it's just not interesting for me to write. Cool to imagine, boring to explain. Blegh. At least it was overwhelmingly recommended to me to go light on the details. Any more would have killed me. If anyone's confused about what I've written, PM me or leave a review. Chances are, if it's confusing to one person, it's confusing to many more, and requires a rewrite.

Anyway, big things happening next chapter.

Long A/N at the bottom. Not really important, though. Just me rambling as usual.

* * *

It took Rowan and Naruto longer to return to the shore than anticipated. There were so many new sights to see that their pace had slowed substantially as they took everything in. Rowan had wanted to rent one of the Yagara Bulls to travel, and Naruto had agreed, but they found that the weight that they were carrying was too much, and the larger variant of the animal couldn't reach the place they needed to go.

However, even at a stroll they still beat Paulie to the shore. When they arrived, the place was empty. The only sign of life around was a single ship sailing away from the island, though Naruto didn't see a Pirate insignia anywhere upon it.

Kurama was nowhere to be seen. Had he been in the area, he would have been impossible to miss. In his smaller form, his presence was condensed along with his size; it was easy to overlook the oppressing feeling unless you were standing near him. However, his normal form was a different story. The fox didn't need to keep as tight of a leash on his Chakra when in that state, and so it ran free, drenching the area around him.

But that feeling wasn't present here like it ought to be.

"I thought you said your partner was here?" Rowan asked, disappointed. He was looking around at the vacant rocky shore for any signs of the supposed 'partner' that he'd yet to see head or tail of.

After a momentary pause in which Rowan felt… something, some sort of force in the air, though he couldn't identify it, the expression on Naruto's face changed from confused to annoyed.

"That asshole!" the blond exclaimed. He turned to Rowan. "He's around here, all right, and he's on his way back right now."

He placed a hand on Rowan's shoulder and steered him over to the edge of the rocks. It wasn't a traditional 'beach', there was no smooth transition from water to shore. Instead, from one step to the next, there was a sheer cliff, a drop-off, which likely ran straight all the way down to the ocean floor.

In front of them, the water was bubbling. To Rowan, it almost looked to be boiling, though he knew such a notion was ridiculous. Gradually, a deep orange glow began to emanate from the ocean in front of where they were standing, and Rowan took a hasty step back, afraid that an underwater volcano was acting up. It wasn't too uncommon; even in the east blue it was something that, while not as frequent as the Grand Line, was something that any seafaring man knew to watch out for. The heat could permanently damage a boat, after all.

Naruto held his ground, however, and so Rowan slowly crept forward once more. The longer he looked, the more he realized that it wasn't the light of underwater magma that he could see, but rather a large, reddish… something that was growing ever-closer to the surface.

"Um, Naruto?"

"Yeah, Rowan?" Naruto answered distractedly, glaring at whatever it was that was rising to the surface of the water.

"What is…" he helplessly gestured to the source of his confusion.

"You'll see in just a moment, kid. Don't worry."

Telling a nine-year-old not to worry about the being rapidly ascending towards them from the dark depths of the ocean helped about as much as sticking a band-aid on an amputated leg.

Suddenly, in a cascade of ocean water, it broke the surface. It had crossed the remaining distance in the time it took for Rowan to ask his question and Naruto to answer it. It shot from the sea, the spray obscuring its form, and flew over the heads of the pair to land further inland on the beach, leaving them drenched from head-to-toe.

Naruto whirled about angrily, and Rowan followed suit much slower. He was shivering from the sudden soaking.

"Oi! Asshole!" he shouted, presumably at whatever had just arrived. When it turned to face them, Rowan, craning his neck upward to look at the gargantuan animal in its entirety, was able to identify it as a fox, though a kind of fox he'd never seen before. He took a step back so he was partially hiding behind his blond companion.

The fox's ears flicked and it slowly turned about to face them. It opened its eyes, and steam began pouring off of its body, the water evaporating at a rapid rate. Rowan could feel the blast of heat from where he stood, over a hundred feet away. It didn't do much to halt his own shivering and shaking in the face of the beast.

"**Oh? You're back so soon?"**

Rowan's jaw dropped as its deep voice rumbled over to them. The fox could talk!

"That thing is talking!" he shrieked, echoing his thoughts.

Naruto ignored his outburst. "Don't act like you didn't know, bastard!" And Rowan decided that hiding behind the one provoking such an animal was, perhaps, not his best move.

"You soaked us on purpose!"

"**So what if I did**?" the fox asked a mouth full of huge, sharp teeth contorting into the vulpine equivalent of a predatory grin. "**You gonna do something about it?" **

Rowan poked Naruto in the back, hard. "Stop provoking it, Naruto!" he whispered harshly.

At the contact, Naruto seemed to finally remember that he existed. He glanced back at Rowan, giving him a reassuring look.

"And look," Naruto turned back to the fox, "You got Rowan wet, too! What if you had ruined all of our Beli, huh?"

The fox rolled its massive eyes. The less and less steam was rolling out of its fur, a sign that most of the moisture was gone.

"**Please. If this that currency could be destroyed by water, it would have happened much sooner." **

The fox was much more mild than Rowan had been expecting. And Naruto seemed to be conversing like…

"No way!" Rowan suddenly exclaimed, drawing the attention of both the fox and Naruto. He stared up into the creature's red eyes in shock. "That's your partner?" he shouted the question at Naruto, who cracked a grin of his own.

"Took you long enough," he teased.

"**You didn't warn him**?"

"I thought it would be fun," Naruto defended. "I didn't expect you to pull that stunt."

The fox sneered. "**There's your problem, Naruto. Thinking isn't one of your strengths**."

"Oh, can it, fox," Naruto dismissed the insult. He reached out and placed a hand atop Rowan's head, pulling him closer. "You should introduce yourself to Rowan here before the others show up."

It sniffed haughtily. "**Any why should I have to introduce myself to an infant?**" He already knew about Rowan's origins, and he and Naruto's relationship, from what he'd viewed through the seal. It just didn't feel right to not antagonize the blond wherever possible.

Rowan looked like he wanted to object to the miscategorization, but the fox was too intimidating to disagree with.

"Idiot!" Naruto barked. "Rowan's going to be living with us! He can't call you 'fox' all of the time, can he?"

Said fox shifted before, finally, he nodded. "I suppose," he grumbled. "If I must."

Its eyes shifted slightly to stare at Rowan's small figure. "**Greetings, child**." His voice changed from arrogant and demeaning to a more formal, neutral tone, lowering slightly in volume. "**I know you, but you have no knowledge of me. You may call me Kyuubi.**"

"'M not a kid," Rowan mumbled, still slightly cowed by Kyuubi's size.

"**Of course**," the Bijuu placated. He continued his introduction. "**You'll likely hear Naruto refer to me as Kurama, since we will be within close quarters for the foreseeable future. I only permit those I respect to use that name**." He took a few steps forward and leaned in close, lazily crossing the distance between them in seconds. "**And that is something you have yet to earn**."

Rowan gulped and nodded hurriedly. "I understand, Mr. Kyuubi," he responded as respectfully as possible. The fox was damn scary! Not to mention the foreboding feeling permeating the air, that, long after the heat generated from Kurama had dried him off, was still causing shivers to wrack Rowan's body.

Kurama grinned and relaxed, sitting back on his haunches. "**Good**," he said simply.

"Ease up on him, Kurama," Naruto scolded with a glare. "I've already got a good feeling about him."

"**You have 'good feelings' about everything, kit, that's not much of a statement to make**."

"Oh, you know what I mean," Naruto sighed at the Bijuu's attitude.

From there, the conversation tapered off, the Bijuu and Naruto quietly conversing while Rowan, quite conspicuously, studied the fox's features. He'd lied down, curling his tails around himself, somewhat obscuring his form.

From his head to his – nine – tails, he was unlike any fox that Rowan had ever seen. Hundreds of times larger than any of the animals on his home island, which was relatively well known in the east blue for its massive fauna.

His face, while not nearly as animate as a human's, was more so than any animal he'd ever seen, each expression depicted clearly, with little room to mistake what they were. So far, those expressions had mostly only shown anger and scrutiny, but it was still more than the apathy that Rowan was used to on most unintelligent animals.

And he had thumbs! His front 'paws' were shaped more like human hands than Rowan was initially comfortable with, and he'd already proven himself capable of walking on his back two feet, the 'toes' of which were also longer and more finger-like than any animal he'd ever seen.

His fur was a deep orange, though it could be mistaken for an off-red in the sunlight, matching the slit irises within each eye. His fur didn't quite look right. It appeared almost hazy, blurred together as though it wasn't actually fur at all. The color was solid across his entire body, except for patches around his eyes and ears, which were black.

All-in-all, even without the fox's size as a factor, he was still incredibly intimidating. Seeing the way that Naruto handled himself around him, though, was reassuring.

While Rowan was distracted by his observations, Paulie had exited Water 7 and was approaching the group. Another individual accompanied him.

"Mr. Uzumaki," Paulie called, waving at the blond who, to an outsider, would appear to be sitting on a trunk at the base of a strange, red hill, as Kurama was lying with his back to the city walls and his tails were tightly tucked around him.

Naruto, who had noticed the new presences long before he was greeted, waved back, and waited for Paulie and the blue-haired newcomer to reach him. When they did, Naruto opened his mouth to greet them, only to freeze when he saw the contents of the striped left shirt pocket on the chest of the new man.

A little mouse was staring intelligently back at him, the man's finger tickling the top of his head.

Naruto blinked and raised his own finger to point out the strange scene, before shaking his head and dismissing it. 'This world is weird' seemed to be a motto that he'd be able to fall back on wherever he went, now.

"Glad you could make it, Paule," Naruto said finally, brushing past his hesitation.

"Anything for a customer," he said gruffly. He pointed towards the other man with his thumb. "This is my boss, Iceburg. When I brought your name up, he decided that he wanted to meet you as well." Naruto nodded, confused but understanding.

"Greetings, Mr. Uzumaki. I am Iceburg," he repeated. "Mayor of Water 7 and the owner of the Galley-La Company. And this," he tickled the mouse's head once more, "Is my friend, Tyrannosaurus."

"Nice to meet – uh," Naruto glanced back at the mouse in distraction. Tyrannosaurus, really? "Nice to meet you, Mayor Iceburg." He reached out and shook the man's outstretched hand, tilting his head up to look the man in the eyes. It seemed that he was doomed to be shorter than everyone he came across from now on.

"I've heard that you accompanied Bartolomeo the Cannibal, and wanted to commission a ship for yourself and your partner," he stated. "Is that him?" he asked, looking at Rowan who making his way over to them, lugging the heavy trunk up the slight incline of the rocky shore.

Naruto followed his gaze and barked out a laugh. "Rowan?" He said. "Nah, Rowan's a… Actually, I don't know what he is. He's my responsibility, though." He hadn't really thought about what Rowan's role on the ship would be. "No, that's," he jerked his head towards Kurama, who had been watching silently, somehow remaining unnoticed, "my partner. Say 'Hi', partner."

Iceburg and Paulie, as one, turned to look at the direction that Naruto had motioned towards. They were greeted by the six-foot eyes and man-sized teeth of the grinning Bijuu.

"**Hi**," Kurama repeated.

Both of the men of Galley-La jumped, eyes wide. A second later, Paulie jumped in front of Iceburg protectively.

"Is this a joke Uzumaki? What is it you want?"

Naruto was chuckling lightly. "Like I said, I need a ship," he explained. "I already told you I could pay." He stepped to the side of the trunk he'd been sitting on a minute earlier and popped it open, exposing the huge quantity of Beli for the two men to see.

"There's a bit of a shortage of ships around to commandeer that would accommodate my partner, y'know?"

Paulie had relaxed at the sight of the Beli, his eyes shining greedily. He nudged the mayor behind him, who, after sensing that Naruto and his 'partner' – hopefully – didn't mean them harm, had relaxed as well. He also understood the man's predicament.

"I see," Iceburg said, both in response to Paulie's nudging and Naruto's rhetorical question. Rowan finally reached the meeting, and opened his trunk next to Naruto's.

"I think," the mayor said, "that we can be of assistance." Practically salivating next to him, Paulie nodded along in agreement. Iceburg pulled out a small snail, '_Den Den Mushi', _Naruto reminded himself, and input something into the dial on its back. A young voice soon came from it.

"Yeah, it's me," Iceburg responded. The voice yelled something at him shrilly.

"That's not important," he said calmly. "Clear my schedule for the next week. Something's come up."

Without waiting for a response, he ended the connection and tucked the snail away, the physics of which confusing Naruto, as there was no visible bulge denoting where the snail was being stored.

Reaching to scratch the top of Tyrannosaurus' head out of habit, he smiled at Naruto.

"Let's get started, shall we?"

* * *

"I'm afraid that I have some bad news, Naruto," Iceburg said.

The two of them stood on the deck of the in-progress ship, watching workers scurry back-and-forth around them. Each crew had one of Naruto's clones with them so that he could get a detailed look into the way that every part of his ship was created, the importance of each part, and, through the instructions of the numerous Foremen, methods of doing emergency repairs. The construction was being conducted in a newly built Dock outside of the city walls, as none of the seven original Docks were large enough to accommodate the undertaking.

Twenty-five days had gone by since Naruto had first stepped foot on Water 7. His ship was in the final forty-eight hours of construction. Since his first meeting with Iceburg and Paulie, every other order the Galley-La was fulfilling had been expedited; every Dock had all hands on deck, and what was under construction at the time had been finished at a record pace.

For the first week, Naruto, Rowan, and less so, Kurama, had been in extensive meetings with the foremen of each Dock, as all of their specialties would be needed to craft what was expected to be the largest vessel the Galley-La Company had ever been conscripted to create. While the workers of Dock One were widely known to be the 'best', that didn't lessen the impressive skills of the rest of Galley-La's employees. Iceburg only hired the best, after all.

"What 'bad news' could you possibly have," Naruto asked jovially. "This is one of the greatest things I've ever seen!"

Iceburg glanced slyly at the blond out of the corner of his eye. "It seems that you do not have the funds to complete your purchase." He droned, keeping all emotion out of his voice.

Naruto's eye shot open. "What!?" he squawked. "We had a deal! That's all of the Beli I have!"

Iceburg closed his eyes and shook his head in mock sadness. "There were some unforeseen costs, I'm afraid," he said. "However, I'm sure that we can work something out. In fact, I have a wonderful idea!"

"Oh yeah? What's this wonderful idea, then, eye-liner?"

Iceburg's cheeks reddened in embarrassment as his habit was called out, but he pressed on. "I think that if you can agree to only have your ship serviced by us here at Galley-La, we can call it even," he said. "It's become our pride and joy, after all."

Naruto's depressed aura disappeared in the blink of an eye. "You got a deal, Iceburg," he said, sticking out his fist to cement it.

The Mayor of Water 7 met the fist bump, used to the action after a few weeks of associating with the blond, and the deal was set.

* * *

The next day, the Mayor and Naruto were alone, sealed within Iceburg's office. The ship was nearly done, and the citizens of Water 7 were prepping the celebratory sendoff that was almost obligatory at this point, after the completion of such a large project. Iceburg sat at his desk, a serious expression on his face, with both hands clasped in front of him.

"So, you're leaving tomorrow," he said, staring at Naruto who was trying to make himself comfortable in the poofed up sofa opposite of him. He wouldn't succeed. Instead, he stood up.

"Yep! It's almost time for me to be somewhere, anyway," he said. "It worked out pretty well, though I am cutting it a little close."

"I feel like it's time for me to relay the secret I've been keeping from you," the Mayor said, reaching into one of the drawers of his desk.

That was a surprise. Naruto wasn't around the man all of the time but he'd like to believe that he'd catch a secret so important that it could only be revealed behind closed doors.

"As the Mayor of this town, I am required to stay up to date on all of the possible dangers that could affect the people of my island," he began, shifting slightly as he withdrew a piece of parchment from the drawer. "One of which are the criminals that could threaten our wellbeing."

He stared at the paper in his hands. "I don't know what you did, though from the reports that came out the same day as your bounty, I can take a guess, he continued. "But that doesn't bother me. I have a dream, you see." He set the paper on the desk, and though Naruto could tell that it was a bounty poster, likely his own, he refrained from craning his neck to get a better look at it.

"It's a little known fact, but my best friend left Water 7 two years ago to join the Straw Hats after he and I built their ship." Naruto let out a small sigh. Somehow, everything came back to that crew, one way or another. "He's out there fulfilling his dream, but mine can only be fulfilled here: I want to make Water 7 into its own ship."

Naruto picked at his ear. "Sorry, man. I think I misheard you, can you repeat that?"

Iceburg smiled. "That's everyone's reaction, really. But it's my dream, and I won't give it up. That's why I was so willing to ignore this," he said, patting the paper in front of him. "I needed your business." He slid the thick cut of paper across the desk at Naruto, who caught it before it could fall off of the table.

Naruto looked down at the poster, began choking on air.

"What the-," he coughed, "What the hell is this?"

"You didn't know?" Iceburg asked, confused.

"I knew they'd put a target on me, but nothing like this! I thought they didn't do beginner bounties like this!"

Iceburg studied the blond before him. "I'm actually curious about that. The poster doesn't list what you did, which is somewhat unusual, and there's nothing in the papers about you," he stated, reaching into his desk to remove yet another identical poster, likely one of the hundreds he'd intercepted over the last month. "I'm guessing it has something to do with Mary Geoise, from the news that was released around the time your bounty was posted, but I can't be certain."

Naruto chuckled, rubbing the back of his head nervously. The few seconds he'd had to stare at his image had been enough to calm down, if only slightly.

"Funny thing, really," he said casually. "Actually, this sort of has to do with you, now. I was kinda pissed off at the World Nobles, so I broke into their city, stole some valuables, freed some slaves, confronted an Admiral. The basics, y'know?" he joked. "Oh! And," he remembered, "I made this one Noble piss himself. That was a good time."

Iceburg was slack-jawed for a few seconds. "I… I see. You said this concerns me-" his eyes widened in horror. "You didn't!"

Naruto nodded happily. "I did," he grinned. "The ship's been bought and paid for by the Nobles themselves."

"How kind of them," Iceburg deadpanned, before slamming his head onto the desk. "I'm in trouble."

"Oh, relax, grumpy," Naruto commanded, "You'll be fine. Just think of it as… motivation to get your city up and sailing. Anyway, after what I saw, I think I was justified."

"It's not really me that I'm worried about," Iceburg confessed. "It's my people. What if the Celestial Dragons decide to investigate here, once word of you gets out?"

Naruto hadn't thought of that. The bastards were likely to enslave the entire population just to get back at him.

He shrugged. "Just say that I forced you," he recommended. "I'm going to be kicking up a fuss elsewhere, probably, so you should be safe. But," he decided that he owed the man for keeping his secret safe, "if anything like that happens, don't hesitate to call me. I'll help in any way I can. It's the least I can do."

"I'll hold you to that, Uzumaki."

* * *

The three new owners of the 'Pride of the Galley-La Company' stood in front of the ship, staring at it in trepidation. Even Kurama was somewhat hesitant.

"**It reminds me of my temple**," Kurama murmured softly, speaking of the enormous temple that his father, Hagoromo Otsutsuki, had constructed for him deep within the mountains of the Land of Fire. He'd received gifts from various others throughout history before, but none with the level of care, craftsmanship, and personality that the temple, and now the ship, contained.

"It reminds me of Konoha," Naruto echoed, looking up at the tall trees lining the sides of the ship. The Company had matched his description of them to a species near indistinguishable, that, conveniently, wouldn't outgrow their habitat, and imported dozens of them to add to the deck.

Rowan stared in awe at the behemoth. Extending a fifth of the way down either side of the bow were three black lines, deeply contrasted to the light brown wood of the ship, reminiscent of the prominent whisker marks present on Naruto's face, and less so on Kurama's. Within those lines were the lines of portholes that made up the front cannons, the number of which were mirrored on the ship's stern. At the center of the bow and the stern were single elongated portholes, much larger and more ovular than any of the others. The trim, all around the rim of the ship, was covered in tiny, intricately swirled leaf symbols, identical to Naruto's headband.

The largest member of their group leapt up without ceremony, entering his new domain. The other two were more reserved, choosing to take the huge gangplank that the members of the Galley-La Company had set up, and were waiting around to see them off.

Iceburg was at the front of the pack, Paulie slightly behind him. When Naruto and Rowan met him at the base of the platform, he nodded his head to them in greeting. Tyrannosaurus squeaked happily from his pocket.

"This is it," Iceburg stated. It was mostly rhetoric, as the entire send-off was planned and announced in advance. Every one of the Galley-La employees that had taken part in the construction of the ship was present, and even a good number of citizens that had become familiar with the new Dock Eight over the last month were in attendance, wanting to see the start of the vessel's maiden voyage.

"I was starting to go stir-crazy," Naruto nodded. "No offense, but I'm happy to be leaving. I don't think I'm meant to sit around for so long."

While Iceburg and Naruto were talking, Rowan was exchanging goodbyes with Paulie. Over the month, he and the shipwright had developed an odd friendship, the man wanting to be a type of mentor to the boy, but being far too immature to do so. Still, when Rowan wasn't with Naruto, he could be found with Paulie, being taught some life lesson, or helping in the construction of the ship.

Having finished his final discussion with Iceburg, Naruto only heard the tail-end of the other two's farewells, the elder wishing the younger good luck, and extracting a promise from him to call his mother regularly. Something that shocked Naruto, as he had no idea that Rowan had living family.

"You ready?" he asked Rowan, who looked up to him and nodded. Together, they scaled the plank and boarded the ship, enthusiastically waving goodbye to the wild crowd.

On board, dozens of Naruto clones were scurrying about, prepping the ship for departure. It was a ship meant for a full, substantial crew, despite their only being the three of them, and so the Shadow Clone Jutsu was the only way that piloting the vessel was possible. He'd been forced to reveal the ability to ensure the shipwrights that he'd be able to work with anything they came up with,

As they stepped over the railing, between two thick trees, and onto the soft lawn of the lower deck, a group of clones came behind them and collected the gangplank for storage.

Naruto looked towards the back of the ship, spotting his lazy friend already asleep in a space he'd specifically requested to be built; the specially designed roof of the observation deck, spherically shaped so that he could lay in it without worry of being jostled off by the fierceness of the sea. The enclosed Observation deck, minus the roof, was the sole cosmetic of the ship that Rowan had been adamant about designing. It was one of the most visible places on the ship, and would also come to be one of the most frequented, and he'd supposedly based its design off of a bar from his hometown.

It was a solidly built room, made to withstand Kurama's substantial weight. Windows decorated every side, fitting for an observation deck, and classic saloon doors marked the one entrance it had. Above the door frame was a white plaque with the symbol of the Galley-La Company engraved into it, the only remaining indicator of the ship's origin, their chosen signature. Fastened around one of the pillars propping up the overhang in front of the building was a basic red and white life buoy. Two small bushes were contained within rectangular plots on either side of the small porch.

He spotted Rowan staring in the same direction, his eyes glistening. Much of the work done on the ship in the last forty-eight hours was on the top deck, so neither of them had seen the finished product until this point. Naruto didn't know what the significance of this particular piece was to Rowan, but he figured that he would eventually find out, one way or another.

He reached over, placing a hand on top of the boy's head, and tousled his hair. "We'll work it out, kid."

Rowan blinked furiously and rubbed his eyes, watching as Naruto drifted towards the building on which the Kyuubi was resting. He himself walked towards the main mast, still grappling with his emotions, and peered around, trying to wrap his head around the scale of the ship he was now a resident of.

The diameter of the mast was easily five times his wingspan, if not more. Rowan had never imagined that there would be trees so large living in the world, though his brief stint in the Mangrove Forest of Saboady Archipelago and now, the titanic mast in front of him, proved him wrong.

He looked up at the now-unfurled curtains of white sails above him, billowing in the wind. Traditionally, a ship would have a crows nest atop the main mast. However, an enclosed bridge connected the top of the three masts together, forming an all-together different kind of lookout, over five-hundred feet off the floor of the deck. It was an arduous climb, but one that Rowan was certain he would grow used to in time.

Really, there was nothing about the ship that wasn't so; walking from one end to the other at his pace took nearly three minutes. Of course, such things were trivial to a ninja and a massive fox that actually had to shrink to fit upon the ship.

Rowan looked over to the sleeping Bijuu. It really was disappointing, but making the ship any larger just wasn't possible, or practical. Had Galley-La done so, it would have been unable to dock at any island, and even the slight maneuverability that it had now would have been completely lost. So, rather than his over-hundred-meter form that he'd greeted Rowan with, he'd reduced himself to about half of his true size, something that he'd remarked had been annoyingly familiar, though Rowan wasn't sure what he meant by that.

"Oi! Rowan!" What he assumed to be the original Naruto called, waving his hand in the air. "Get over here!"

Rowan rested his pack on the grassy surface of the lower deck, against the mast, as he was determined to visit the lookout later, and made his way over to Naruto who was standing on the porch of the building a few yards behind where the wheel was stationed. He noticed that there was another Naruto manning the wheel, looking rather diminutive in comparison to its large size.

It had been built in such a way that it was easily operable by Naruto, and, in emergencies, was large enough that even the Kyuubi could steer. The fact that the clone was already operating the wheel meant that they had already departed, which was incredible, because Rowan couldn't feel the slightest hint of the sea's movement from underneath him.

He walked past the wheel, storing that information away for later, and slowly pushed open the saloon-style doors of the building that Naruto had retreated into.

The bar that he entered doubled as the observation deck. It had a ratio of about half wall, half window, and it was easy to see out any side of the room.

The rectangular bar that Naruto was sitting at was very basic, though it brought memories rushing to the forefront of Rowan's thoughts. Purple Bellflowers bloomed beautifully from the two pots on opposite ends of the bar, and, unbidden, a face flashed through his mind before he forcefully pushed it away.

Against the back wall was a shelf fully stocked with various kinds of alcohol, likely the shipwright's favorites, as that was one part of the design of the room that Rowan, being nine, was unable to assist with. More flowers sat on either side of the shelf, flanked by small decorative mirrors that were firmly attached to the wall.

There were a few thick wooden tables positioned throughout the room, but in the center was one that was affixed to the floor, and larger than the rest. There were dozens of empty holes in a circle around the rim of the table. The purpose of the holes was to hold Eternal Log Poses, and about eight slots were already filled, the names of the corresponding islands engraved beneath them.

"So, what're you doing designing a bar?" Naruto asked, pulling Rowan away from his inspection.

"It's somewhere from when I was a kid," he replied defensively.

"Was it your mom's?" Naruto pried.

Rowan flinched in shock. "I thought you didn't know," he said quietly, staring at the ground.

Naruto stood from his stool and walked over. "I didn't, actually," he said. "Good job, it's usually pretty hard to keep secrets from me. I only found out a few minutes ago; I overheard you and Paulie."

"Oh," was Rowan's reply.

"Yeah," Naruto said. "Look, I won't pry, but you can trust me. If you need anything, let me know," he smiled. "Unlike most people, I can actually be in two places at once, so helping comes easy."

"Okay," Rowan agreed, sounding much like Naruto when he used to 'agree' with his academy instructors.

He looked sadly at the top of the boy's head, deciding to let it go for now. His own personal experience told him that he wouldn't get any further at the moment.

"Enough of that," he changed gears, "We're on our way! Go explore some, there's like, an entire floor that we never got to see! I've got some calls to make."

Nodding, Rowan took one more glance around the hauntingly familiar room and made his exit, the saloon doors swinging behind him.

"Find me or a clone if you need help!" he heard Naruto call to him from the building. The clone manning the wheel looked at him pointedly as he passed by.

"Fine," he sighed, exasperated, in response to the clone's scrutiny. "I promise to let you know if I need help. I'm only going up to the Crow's Nests, anyway."

"That's all we ask," the clone said with a nod, looking back to the Log Pose in his hand.

Half an hour later, Rowan was situated comfortable in a swinging hammock within the spacious Crow's Nest, staring out over the sea as the ship made its course for Saboady Archipelago.

* * *

In my mind, while the ship is massive, almost all that we'll see of it will be taking place on the deck or in a few select rooms. They'll be described more as the story progresses and things actually start to happen there, but as of right now, they are: The Deck (_lawn, much like the Thousand Sunny, lined with thick-trunked trees_), the Crow's Nest (_lookout, Rowan's main hangout. Also a weight/training room, like Thousand Sunny, my reasoning is that Iceburg was inspired by the other ship's design_), Observation room/Bar (_the little bar that we saw in this chapter. It has a lot of significance, in case that wasn't obvious enough in the chapter. Try to guess what the significance of it is! _), the kitchen, (_Rowan has to eat, and I have something else planned that I'm not certain if I will actually implement or not_), and finally, Naruto's 'office' (_in which he works on and tests his seals, though depending on my approach to seals, may or may not be used frequently_)

There are three main floors to the ship, though, besides the crow's nest, all of the rooms I just mentioned are at the stern, underneath the bar. The bottom floor is a basement, mostly used for storage, so it's not going to be mentioned much. The reason that such a huge ship only has three floors is because, if there were more, Kurama wouldn't be able to fit his already diminished self into them. I didn't like having to shrink him as much as I did to make the ship work as is, so I refuse to do it any more.

I purposefully refrained from mentioning a figurehead, as I just couldn't decide what I wanted it to be. Giving the ship whole-ass Naruto whiskers was already cheesy enough, I couldn't choose an equally corny figurehead. Any ideas? Then again, I actually doubt that a ship this size would have a figurehead. In the way that the entire whale head was the Moby Dick's figurehead, could the whiskers be this ship's? I'm just at a loss for what to do there.

In addition, the lack of a ship name is a subtle nod to the fact that I have yet do give the ship a name. I have ideas, but nothing more.

Naruto doesn't know the significance of a Jolly Roger yet, though he'll be properly informed soon enough. I already have that design set.

* * *

I was ridiculously tempted to give Naruto a swing like the Thousand Sunny, but I figured that we've all seen enough of that.

* * *

Also, as I was beginning the next chapter last night, I was also watching the corresponding episodes of One Piece, and was reminded of a few things that I've gotten wrong so far:

1.) Luffy's bounty at this point is not 300,000,000 as I said it was before. It is 400,000,000. Whoops.

2.) Rayleigh actually stopped training Luffy about 6 months before the end of the time skip and hopped back over to Saboady during that time in canon. In my story, I'm just going to have it so he's been off doing 'Rayleigh things' in those months, instead of being on Saboady with Shakky. She did once say that he's prone to disappearing for months/years at a time.

* * *

I'm going to have a good time next chapter. So far I've loved writing the Straw Hats.


	11. Chapter Eleven

This chapter came less than 24 hours after my last update - if you haven't read Chapter 10, don't read this yet! It'll be a a lil confusing if you do.

* * *

I responded to a reviewer earlier, saying that the Straw Hats would be featured in this chapter. Sorry, that ended up being only partially true. I got caught up here and wrote way more than I initially intended.

Officially crossed the 60k word mark ;). Wild. Thanks for all of your reviews!

If anyone feels up to explaining what exactly a beta is, I'd be grateful. I'm clueless, but it sounds interesting.

* * *

A small crowd of onlookers had gathered together in Grove 54 to witness the spectacle that was the mooring of Naruto's ship. He'd hit the first snag of having such a large vessel: traditional docks could not accommodate it. So, he'd been directed to the abandoned shipyard that was Grove 54 to dock, and nearly everyone that witnessed his travel around the outskirts of the island had followed on land, wanting to know who could possibly be the owner of of the titanic beauty.

All of those people would be in for a disappointment, as Naruto had left the ship under the command of his clones, having personally disembarked as soon as the Archipelago was in sight. Rowan elected to stay aboard, the Archipelago he'd spent the last two years overlooking not a source of comfort for him, and Kurama was doing his best to acclimate to the negative emotions from the safety of his perch. No one would be exiting the ship for them to gawk at.

Naruto was instead strolling through the Hustle-Muscle Mangroves, leisurely making his way to Shakky's Rip-off Bar. Based on the position of the sun, Naruto would guess that it was around four in the afternoon. From what he'd seen so far, there was far more activity on the island than when he last visited. There were posters plastered over every tree he'd seen featuring the face of a skeleton with an afro wearing rose sunglasses, the name 'Soul King' in bright letters underneath the image, advertising a convert. The presence of such a big celebrity could explain away the busyness of the Archipelago.

Yet another thing that differed from his last visit was the various powers he could feel all around the island. His sensing ability wasn't precise enough to nail down their exact location, though he got the feeling that, other than Shakky, there were at least two more such people in the direction of her bar. Before, other than Shakky and Bartolomeo, he didn't feel even a single presence on the island that stood out. The only exception was the man that was protecting the Thousand Sunny, and Naruto had been unable to properly sense him until he got near.

He mentally shrugged as he walked, resigned to the likelihood of this visit being more exciting than the last.

Taking notice of his actual surroundings rather than the feel of the whole island for the first time in a few minutes, Naruto noticed something strange. He'd had to pass through Groves 61 and 60 on his way to the bar, and he was starting to see more and more uniformed groups of people. The uniforms they were wearing were similar to the one that Admiral Fujitora sported, so he safely assumed that they too were marines. He didn't recall seeing any on his last trip here, and Shakky had told him that they had far less of a hold on the Archipelago than they did two years ago.

As he crossed from Grove 60 to Grove 59, he passed by a large grey building, pausing only slightly as he felt a stronger-than-average presence from within, one that he felt comfortable equating to Bartolomeo's, possibly a little stronger.

"It seems that they haven't _completely_ withdrawn," he said out loud, drawing a few curious looks from the Marines around him. Thankfully, his figure was rather unintimidating compared to many others in the world, and his face was an unknown, otherwise he may have garnered more scrutiny.

On a whim, he approached one of the smaller groups of Marines that looked to be led by an older, larger man with a long, skeletal face and pale skin. He wore a golden helmet with a red plume on his head and had a sword strapped to his side, reminding Naruto of the fictitious stories of knights from his childhood.

"Excuse me?" he asked. The other eight Marines stood to attention while only the leading man reacted to Naruto's arrival.

"Can I help you, civilian?" he asked roughly. When he spoke, Naruto noticed that he was missing a tooth.

Naruto nodded. He smiled inwardly at the man's lack of recognition. It would be obvious once his identity came out, connecting his face to the mask, but until then he was certain that he had anonymity.

"I was curious," he said. "Looks like there's a lot going. Is something happening on the island?"

The man – Captain, possibly, if his authority was anything to go by – looked at him strictly. "If you want to stay safe, leave the island as soon as you can," he recommended, his voice andthe words foreboding. "There's been reports of an increase in Pirate activity. I'm not authorized to say any more."

'_Interesting. Those presences that I felt must have been all of the Pirates around the island,'_ He thought.

"I'll make sure to do that, officer," he said, giving the man a half-hearted salute, which the man took as more of a compliment than the veiled mocking he'd intended it to be.

"Captain," he corrected, confirming Naruto's earlier guess. "Stay safe, kid," he advised gruffly. "And don't take needless risks; stay out of the lawless zone."

At least he wasn't an asshole. As far as first encounters with non-Admiral Marines went, it didn't go as poorly as he'd expected.

"Got it, Captain," Naruto replied, not that he had any intention to follow the man's advice.

He waved to the Marine Captain and went on his way.

* * *

He could clearly hear voices coming from inside, and feel the three bright auras to match, but the sign on Shakky's door read 'closed'.

"Should I come back?" he asked himself.

He shook his head. "Nah, I don't care enough."

He carelessly pushed the door open, and was greeted by a strange sight. In the corner of the room to his right side was a huge blond man covered head-to-toe in bandages, surrounded by three normal-sized similarly bandaged guys in matching black leather jackets. He was attached to an IV drip, which Shakky was, at the moment, fiddling with. In the other corner booth, an elderly silver-haired man was sleeping with his face flat on the table.

As soon as he stepped in, the injured men's eyes turned to him. Naruto got a good look at his fellow blond's ridiculously chiseled features, and grimaced. There was such a thing as 'too much', and this guy's face was the very definition of it.

"You've got some balls, coming back after that stunt you pulled," Shakky addressed him crudely, her face hard as stone. She was pointedly refusing to look at him. She carefully set the IV back in place and retreated behind her bar, pouring out a drink for herself and downing it rapidly.

"Uhh-," Naruto stuttered, unsure of what brought this on.

"You know, you promised me that you wouldn't do anything reckless. It was pretty much the last thing you said," she accused, filling her glass once more.

Naruto looked at her in confusion, though inside he was sweating. "I did, grandma!" he reassured her. He hoped that the nickname would lessen the anger a bit, but it only seemed to grow stronger.

"I don't know about you, _Uzumaki,_" she hissed his name venomously, "but most people, including me, don't consider launching an assault on Mary Geoise 'safe'." The second glass was long gone.

"You- how did you-" '_How did you know_?' was what he tried to ask, but his stammering was interrupted halfway through.

She turned away from him, reaching towards something on the wall. "Please," she said with scorn, "You come back to my bar asking about the place, and the same night it gets firebombed to Hell?"

When she said it like that, it did seem pretty obvious.

"Plus, there's this." She turned to him once more, shoving out the bounty poster for him to look at. "Really, 'Demon Fox Naruto'? This is barely even a disguise. Even Duval," she glanced at the bandaged man for a split second, "could make the connection."

The artist's rendition of him was incredibly accurate, down to the Uzumaki swirls on his clothing. The drawing depicted him standing a dozen or so feet away, in front of a backdrop of flames contrasted against the night sky. The ruined mansions of Mary Geoise likely weren't included to save face. Thankfully, it was only him, and his younger companion wasn't described anywhere in either his description or the drawing.

He was wearing his fox-like Anbu mask, the animalistic features such as the ears and whiskers emphasized by the artist. His blond hair peaked out above the top of the mask. From the positioning, it was likely Admiral Fujitora's description of him, though he had yet to find out how the blind man could see such things so clearly. The bottom of the poster listed his name, as well as the new nickname that the newspaper had given him once his bounty became more well known, and the words 'Wanted Alive' were printed in large letters on the top and bottom of the paper. It had been released with little fanfare, though it was quickly noticed by Bounty Hunters and the like. However, unlike most criminals whose deeds were at least partially public knowledge, there was nothing about him mentioned anywhere, nothing that hinted at his abilities or the laws that he'd broken to earn such a bounty.

"That's 'Demon Fox' Naruto D. Uzumaki?!" Duval shouted in surprise, grimacing when he tried, and failed, to sit up. "No way!"

Shakky sighed, bringing a hand up to rest over her eyes. "Well, maybe not," she admitted. "But it's still a terrible disguise."

Naruto noticed a small creature in the seat at the far-left end of the bar looking back and forth between him and Shakky in confusion, but he put ignored it in the face of Shakky's wrath.

"To be fair," he reasoned, somewhat desperately. Shakky was reaching for the dirty rags. "I did keep my promise."

Her glare didn't relent, and she placed his bounty poster face-down in front of her. She exited the bar and walked over towards him

"I was safe! That Admiral was actually a pretty good guy!"

She stopped in front of him and he cringed, expecting a blow, like most women in his life liked to gift him with when he frustrated them.

"There was an Admiral there?" she asked softly, looking at the floor between them, her hair shadowing her eyes.

He unclenched his jaw and relaxed slightly when the blow didn't come. He cracked his eye open warily, before straightening up once more.

"Yeah, he was cool. Introduced himself as Issho, but said that everyone calls him Admiral Fujitora," Naruto answered, a little lighter than before.

"IDIOT!" Shakky shouted, darting forward. Naruto was momentarily surprised by what looked to be Shakky's own recreation of the Big-Head Jutsu that his teacher, Iruka, had often used to scold him when he was younger, and as such, he wasn't able to react to the blow in time.

With a crash, his head was sent through the now-shattered floorboards of the bar. Shakky, pulling her fist back, looked at the display in satisfaction. Naruto's legs and lower torso were waving about wildly as he comically tried to pull himself out of the ground.

He freed himself, and though she hid it, Shakky was surprised to see that not even a scratch marred the whiskered face in front of her. Though, he was crying crocodile tears, which, though they were clearly faked, made her feel a little better.

"Feeling better," he groused, shaking the dirt and loose wood splinters out of his hair.

"A little," she said snidely. She returned to her bar, and began washing the glass she had used earlier. "It may take a few more hits, though."

"I'm sorry that I worried you, Shakky," Naruto said earnestly. "But I couldn't sit around and do nothing. It was worth it, I think."

She looked at him sadly. "I know how you feel, Naruto," she said. "But you don't even have a crew."

He wanted to protest, say that _technically,_ he had Rowan and Kurama, but two wasn't much of a crew, so he refrained. She had a decent point.

"Confidence like yours kills more pirates that anything else," she continued. "It happens all the time on the Archipelago."

"Grandma," he said. For now, he was ignoring the other occupants of the bar that were intently listening to their loud conversation. He could tell that even the ridiculously powerful old man had woken up, though he was still face-down at his booth. "That place was," he hesitated, searching for the right words, "foul." He took a seat on one of the barstools, and Shakky slid him a glass of water, the drink that he'd asked of her the last time. "I wasn't able to see them all, but there were at least a few thousand miserable slaves there. They were kept shackled underneath the mansions in the dark, and were only allowed out when working."

He took a breath.

"When I was there, I freed almost a hundred slaves."

She looked away, disgust clear on her face.

"I couldn't do anything for the rest of them. They didn't _want_ to escape. They were like walking dolls, completely dead on the inside. It was… horrible." He shivered at the memory. "I can't really describe it, but even now, I'm so… angry with the situation that I'm barely holding off from attacking again."

The glass in his hand shattered, and the pieces spilled over the bar. Shakky was looking at him with an unreadable expression on her face. She leaned forward and wordlessly swept up the broken glass from the table using another worn rag.

"I told you that I'd be safe, grandma," he reiterated. "I meant it. I'm older than I look. I'm not just some naïve Rookie. What I've been through…" he trailed off, looking down at his hand. He pulled the shards of glass that hadn't yet been forced out by his Chakra from his palm, leaving behind little slits of blue that sealed themselves instantly.

"I can take care of myself."

"I believe you," Shakky said simply.

He looked up at her, startled by her admission.

"You-" he was cut off.

"Just because I believe you doesn't mean that I don't worry," she told him. She continued. "I could tell that you were strong as soon as you stepped into Grove 13 the very first time. But I've seen strong people brought to their knees when they try to go it alone. I just…"

Naruto nodded. He understood.

"I'm not alone," he reminded her. "I have my partner, too. No one can beat us when we work together."

She rolled her eyes at the mention of his elusive 'partner'.

"Whatever. I'll believe it when I see it," she said, her tone making it clear that she was ready to transition to lighter topics. "I think that some introductions are in order, no?" She mysteriously produced a lit cigarette and placed it between her lips, taking a drag.

Naruto scratched his head in embarrassment, remembering the others within the bar that had heard he and Shakky's entire conversation. He knew the name of the big one, Duval, though it didn't have any significance to him. The old man and the tiny hat-wearing animal were a mystery, though.

She released a cloud of smoke, spitefully blowing it in Naruto's direction, who coughed and swatted the air uselessly.

"The eavesdropping geezer is my good-for-nothing husband," Shakky said harshly, though Naruto can hear the affection in her tone. "He's the one I wanted you to meet."

Naruto did a double take. _That old man_? Sure, he was definitely the most powerful person in the bar, and likely the island, and he had the 'old badass' vibe to him, and he had a cool scar, and even though it was grey, his beard was pretty awesome too…

'_Oh_,' Naruto thought, studying the man that was now sitting up and looking at his wife with a cocked eyebrow. '_No, I definitely get it now.' _He nodded to the unnamed man, who acknowledged him with a piercing look.

"But he's not important right now," she said bluntly, abruptly turning away from her husband, who face-planted into the bar once more in disappointment at her coldness. In his mind's eye, Naruto imagined a small rain cloud forming over the man's head, and cracked a grin.

She pivoted, looking straight at the odd, tiny mammal that was sitting at the other end of the bar who had been quietly sipping his juice from a straw and watching the proceedings with wide eyes.

"The most important _person_ in the bar right now," she spread her arms out in excitement and leaned over the bar, grabbing the clothed animal and lifting him back towards her, squeezing him to her chest. "Is this guy!"

The animal's juice clattered to the floor and it began flailing in shock and surprise, futilely attempting to pull itself away from the deceptively strong Shakky. After a moment, she relented, and set him back on the bar.

"Sorry, Chopper, I couldn't resist," she apologized, patting the blue hat on the animal's head. "You're just too adorable!"

Naruto stared at the woman in surprise. That was a weird reaction to get from the usually composed bar owner.

"Don't say that like it's supposed to make me happy, asshole," a high pitched voice said. To Naruto's shock, he realized that it was coming from the animal!

'_Is it a summon_?' he wondered.

"Of course, little Chopper," she said, rubbing one of his ears that was sticking out from his hat. The animal squirmed in response, but didn't move away.

"Chopper, meet Naruto. He's a friend I made a little ways back," she explained.

'_Chopper_…' Naruto thought, staring intently at the back of the intelligent animal before him. '_That sounds familiar, but why_?'

It, _he, _turned around, and Naruto had a surge of recognition. It helped that the little guy's bounty poster was plastered on the wall behind him.

"You're part of the Straw Hats!" he exclaimed. "That's why you looked so familiar…"

Chopper took another sip from the new cup of juice that Shakky had procured for him, nodding.

"I'm the Straw Hat's Doctor, Tony Tony Chopper," he declared after he swallowed the mouthful of juice. "But," he peered at Naruto. "I've never seen you before."

Naruto waved away the question. "Oh, I'm new around here," he said vaguely. "But you! What are you? Are you a summon? I've never heard of the Reindeer clan before…" he trailed off, looking at Chopper thoughtfully. He was clearly a Reindeer, though he could easily be mistaken as something else if one had never seen a Reindeer before. Hell, he remembered thinking the same when he'd first seen Chopper's bounty poster.

"Summon?" Chopper asked cutely. "I don't know what that is, can you tell me?"

Naruto took a moment to gather himself, to remember that he was no longer in the Elemental Nations, and things like 'summons' didn't exist here.

"It's… not important," he said finally, shaking his head. "Just an old story from my home."

"Oh," Chopper said, noticing Naruto's lapse of sadness. "Well, I'm a Reindeer-Human. I'm a Reindeer that ate the Human-Human Devil Fruit!"

That, Naruto thought, was actually pretty neat. If his basic understanding of Devil Fruits was accurate, such a fruit would be useless in the hands of a human, it wouldn't do anything beyond stripping them of their ability to swim. However, in the hands of an animal, in this case Chopper, it seemed to have granted him human-level intellect and the ability to speak.

He whistled. "That's pretty unique," he complimented, looking the Doctor up and down. "Cool."

The reindeer did the same dance he'd done when Shakky complimented him, except this time, he was facing Naruto, and he got the full effect. The smallest Straw Hat shut his eyes in happiness, blushing, and wiggled back and forth, clapping his hooved hands together.

"Oh, shut up, jerk. That doesn't make me happy at all!"

Naruto stared intently at the reindeer even after he stopped, trying to prevent himself from mirroring Shakky's earlier action toward the cute Doctor. He managed, with great effort.

"Of course," he agreed implicitly.

He coughed, hoping to regain his sense of control.

"So, Chopper, _Shakky_, what's one of the Straw Hats doing here on his own?"

"Five," Shakky replied, much to Naruto's confusion.

"Five… Five what?" he made said confusion known.

"Chopper's only one of five Straw Hats currently on the Archipelago," Shakky answered. Chopper smiled happily, bouncing in excitement. "They just haven't yet met up."

"Mrs. Shakky doesn't want me to go looking for them on my own," Chopper explained. "She said that something bad's happening right now."

Shakky nodded. "Really, Na-ru-to," she said playfully, "You have perfect timing. You'll help Chopper here go shopping and get to his ship!"

Naruto stared at Shakky's grinning face. "I will?"

Her grin turned sharp. Chopper's eyes widened as he watched the exchange. "Oh, definitely. After all," she said menacingly, "you're still a long way from being forgiven."

Naruto gulped at her dark look, and glanced at Chopper. He'd come to learn about Haki, supposedly, as he'd come to find out, from Shakky's husband. However, having her upset wouldn't sit well within, and if all he had to do was a few favors to make up for his misdirection, then it was worth it. Especially if one of the favors was to help out such an adorable Pirate.

"In that case, how could I say no?"

In the far corner of the room, a dark aura had overcome Duval. He was trembling, and his face was wracked with spasms as he tried, and failed, to close his eyes and calm himself.

However, when Shakky's idea for the unfamiliar, _dangerous_ man to escort Chopper was solidified, he burst.

"What do you think you're doing!" he raged, glaring at Shakky. She'd sensed his outburst coming and so she didn't visibly react to it. Instead, she reached out and patted Choppers head once more before turning to the largest, most injured man in the room.

"What do you mean, Duval?" she asked, her voice calm and soothing.

"You can't send Chopper with him!" he spat. "You just told us that he's _The_ Naruto D. Uzumaki, the criminal with the highest starting bounty in history!"

Naruto looked to Duval in consideration, then back to Shakky. "He's got a point," he said, agreeing with the man's distrust.

Shakky ignored him, not breaking eye contact with Duval.

"You may not know him, Duval," she said. "But I do. Did you not hear him earlier? He broke in to the land of the Celestial Dragons and freed a hundred slaves, something that hasn't been attempted since Fisher Tiger, one of the greatest men I've ever met," _she knew that guy?!_ "did it himself years ago."

Duval didn't look convinced. "But," he protested, "it's Chopper…"

Naruto laughed inwardly. It seemed like the little Reindeer had everyone wrapped around his finger, without even knowing.

"I understand your frustration, Duval," Shakky said softly. "But I know Naruto, and I trust him. I don't believe that it's possible to do what he did, free all of those people, without being a good person."

"Ah," Naruto interrupted. "I couldn't safely free any of the adults. I sent the ninety-six kids I found to Zou. And I didn't break in _just _to free them, you know. I needed money to get a ship. I also just don't really like those Nobles, so I put a collar on one of them."

Shakky stared at him. So did Duval, and the rest of the people in the bar. Even Shakky's husband shot upright at that.

"You did-" Duval choked.

Shakky closed her eyes and took a deep breath, righting herself.

"See, Duval? Trust me on this. You know that I wouldn't put Chopper in danger like that."

Duval was quietly looking at both of his bandaged arms, resting in their slings. "If anything happens, it's on you," he finally agreed.

"Nah," Naruto interjected. "If anything happens, it'll be on me. But don't worry, I'll keep him safe. I'm pretty strong."

Chopper, a little put off by being spoken about like he wasn't there, reentered the conversation. "I can take care of myself, too," he said to Shakky and Duval. "I didn't just sit around for two years, you know."

"We know you can," Shakky said, "but it's always safer with back-up," she glared in Naruto's direction.

"I get it already! The next time, I'll make sure to bring friends," Naruto joked.

Shakky pointed to the door. "Stop making the Doctor wait, brat," she ordered. "Get going already."

Naruto looked conspiratorially over at Chopper, who was hurriedly finishing off his cup of juice. "You'd think I wasn't wanted here," he sighed dramatically.

Chopper laughed and set the empty cup down.

"Mr. Naruto?" he asked, falling side by side with Naruto on his walk out of the bar.

"Yeah, Doctor Chopper?" Naruto responded, using the Reindeers title. It fit well with his name.

"Duval said that you have the highest starting bounty, but I've not seen many bounty posters while I was away," he said.

"Uzumaki," a commanding voice interrupted his and Chopper's conversation.

He turned to the so-far-silent husband of Shakky, lifting an eyebrow in question.

"Yeah, good-for-nothing?" he asked, echoing Shakky's earlier words. He heard her chuckle behind the bar.

The man's scarred eye twitched in annoyance. "Meet me here tonight," he said.

"Got it, old man," Naruto replied. "Good luck with-" his eye darted in Shakky's direction, and he decided to abandon that sentence. "Yeah. I'll be here."

The man turned away from him once more, going back to his drink. Naruto shrugged and looked back down towards Chopper, who had stopped walking at the same time as Naruto.

"You wanted to know my bounty, right?" He asked, getting himself back on track.

The Reindeer nodded once more. "I haven't seen any bounties since I was with everyone else, two years ago," he said.

"Well, I made a pretty big splash," Naruto explained. Chopper listened intently. "But even I was surprised by what the Government decided to stick me with. Here," he pulled the copy of his bounty that he kept on him from a seal in his pocket, and handed it to Chopper.

The Reindeer took a few moments looking at his picture, during which the door to the bar closed behind them. Once he'd absorbed the masked image, he looked to the bottom of the poster.

Chopper's eyes bulged and his mouth went slack when he saw the figure. He looked up to Naruto's nonchalant face in shock.

"WHAT!?"

* * *

Naruto walked patiently, matching the slower pace of his new companion. Usually, Chopper would be capable of matching a human's pace, but at the moment he was so busy staring at Naruto in awe that he was having a hard time.

Soon, though, Naruto's patience wore out, and he gave in to him impulses. He bent over and lifted the tiny Reindeer, placing him on his shoulder, much to Chopper's surprise.

While the Reindeer flailed, trying to readjust to his new position, Naruto sped up.

"So, Chopper, where is it you need to go?"

Quickly falling into 'Doctor Mode', Chopper began counting places off on his… hooves. He didn't list too many.

"Do ya know which Grove those are in?" he asked, guessing that it would be in the 40's.

He was right. "Shakky said that all the best apothecaries are in Grove 47, which is where I went last time I was here," Chopper said. "But I wanted to look at Grove 46, too!"

Naruto nodded. "We can do that," he agreed. "Do you have all the Beli you need?"

Chopper reached into his hat and rummaged around before nodding hesitantly. "I- I think I do, but… their prices might have changed in the last two years."

"If you don't," Naruto reassured him, "I'll be happy to help out."

"Really?" Chopper asked, shifting to look at the side of Naruto's face that he could see from his perch upon his shoulder.

"Course," Naruto said easily. "One of my best friends was a medic, after all. I know how your type feels about your medicine."

"She's not a medic anymore?" Chopper asked innocently.

Naruto's walk slowed for a moment at the question. Out of habit, he grinned, though it didn't reach his eyes. "She was the best," he said sadly. "But she's not around anymore."

"Oh," Chopper understood.

* * *

Naruto and Chopper stood in front of a public poster board. The Reindeer's shopping had gone off without a hitch, the nefariousness that Shakky had mentioned hadn't reared its head. Until now.

"Straw Hats… Recruiting?" Chopper asked, peering at the litany of papers posted in front of them.

"First I've heard of it," Naruto remarked, pulling one of the advertisements off of the board.

"Me, too," Chopper said, his confusion evident in his voice. "Luffy always said he wanted a small crew."

"What's your gut say?" Naruto asked.

"My… gut?" Chopper looked down at his stomach. "I didn't know it could talk."

Naruto chuckled. "Not literally," he explained. "A gut feeling is your first instinct, or reaction to something."

Chopper looked worried. "I… don't know," he said quietly, staring at the poster that Naruto had handed to him. "It doesn't seem right, but it's been two years…"

Naruto had a bad feeling about it. "Well," he started, "it says that they're meeting in Grove 46 tomorrow. If we don't find any of your crewmates before then, we'll check it out."

"You'll go with me?" Chopper asked.

"I've got nothing better to do," Naruto shrugged, picking up the young Reindeer once more and slinging him onto his shoulder. "And if it's a trap, then it's better that I'm with you, I think."

"Thanks, Naruto," Chopper said happily. After a couple of times correcting the Reindeer, Naruto had gotten him to drop the 'Mr.' from his name.

"Aw, don't worry about it, Chopper," he said, beginning the walk towards Grove 41. "Now, I visited the Thousand Sunny when I was here before, should we check it for your other crew members?"

Chopper nodded enthusiastically. "Shakky said that Franky was working on Sunny, he'll definitely know something about this!" He stuffed the poster into his hat.

"Wanna try something fun?" Naruto asked slyly.

"What do you-"

The two disappeared in a blur.

A few seconds, and a few _Shunshin _later, and Naruto and Chopper stood in front of the Thousand Sunny. Surprisingly, Chopper seemed to take to the technique well; he didn't look the least bit queasy. Rather, he was wide-eyed and bouncing excitedly.

"What _was _that," he asked breathlessly.

Naruto smiled. "A technique of mine," he explained. "Basically, it lets me travel a distance in a very short time. Grove 41 was pretty far away, so I had to do it a few times. You're not nauseous at all?"

Chopper shook his head. "I've trained myself to resist most of the causes of nausea," he replied. "It wouldn't be good if the Doctor started getting sick, after all." Which was the polite way of saying that it wouldn't be good if he was treating one of his crew members and threw up his lunch on them.

"Hmm. Didn't expect that," Naruto said casually. He looked up towards the Thousand Sunny. According to Iceburg, he and his best friend had worked on the Brig Sloop-type vessel together, creating a masterpiece the likes of which was only mirrored by only the most powerful crews on the Grand Line.

Even his initial impression of the ship gave that statement credibility. Iceburg had explained that Franky was the more technologically inclined of the two of them, able to work with many more materials that Iceburg himself could not. The intricate designs and variety of structures on the ship were a sign of that. Even in the face of his own ship, its outward craftsmanship was nothing to scoff at. He was certain that the interior was even more impressive.

However, his careful examination of the ship revealed not just it's quality, but one more important fact: there was no one else on board.

He doubted that Chopper knew yet, as a glance in his direction showed the Reindeer still staring at the ship in anticipation.

"Ah, don't be too upset, Doctor," he started softly, "but there's no one here."

Confused, Copper looked over to Naruto. "How'd you know that?" he asked.

Naruto gestured backwards in the direction of Grove 42. "The closest presence is a mile or so that way," he said. "And I doubt that they're strong enough to be one of your crewmates."

Chopper easily inferred from Naruto's response that he was able to sense people, which was a super cool ability. Still, it was disappointing that none of his fellow crew members were present.

He put a hoof to his chin in thought. "Franky's probably getting supplies," he reasoned, "I'll wait around for him."

It was around eight, a few hours after he and Chopper had left the bar, and the sun was setting. Naruto wasn't certain when Franky would be returning, and he didn't feel comfortable leaving the young Pirate on his own. From what he could tell, Duval was no longer able to protect the ship, the figure that had been guarding it when Naruto had visited was gone, and there were no other Straw Hats in range.

However, he couldn't stick around for much longer. He needed to check up on his own ship; its size ensured that it hadn't had a stealthy entrance, there were surely at least one or two overly curious individuals that wanted to get a better look, or worse. He trusted Kurama and his clones to watch over Rowan and the ship while he was away, but it was always better to do things in person. In addition, he had to get back to the bar to meet with the man that he _still _hadn't learned the name of. Hopefully that would work out, and he would gain a tutor for the so-far mysterious 'Haki'.

"Nope!" Naruto declared, leaping onto the railing of the ship with Chopper in tow. "I gotta go, and I can't just leave you on your own," he said, setting Chopper down.

Chopper shook his hoof. "I can take care of myself!" he shouted.

Naruto nodded. "I know you can; you're a Pirate, after all," he said kindly. "But you heard me in the bar, it would be my fault if something bad happened to you."

Chopper pouted, turning away from Naruto in frustration.

"Plus," Naruto said sneakily, "I have some people on my ship that are past due for a check-up."

Chopper's spine went ramrod straight, and he slowly turned to Naruto. "What… did you say?" he asked, his voice deeper and more menacing than Naruto had heard yet.

"Actually," Naruto put a hand to his chin. "I don't think my partner has ever been to a Doctor before," he declared, his eye squinting as he smiled innocently.

Copper looked at him, his eyes dark. "I'll be right back." He turned, pulling the bubbles full of supplies behind him, and ran deeper into the Thousand Sunny and out of sight. A minute later, he reappeared, a stethoscope around his neck and a small bag strapped to his back. He marched forward and stood in front of Naruto, hooves on his hips.

"Let's go," he demanded. Naruto, obliging, reached down and grasped one of Chopper's outstretched arms.

"Of course, Doctor," he agreed. A clone melted out from his back, staying behind as Chopper and the original Naruto disappeared. It leapt off the Thousand Sunny and made itself comfortable on the grassy shore. If a Straw Hat returned, he'd make sure to relay where their Doctor was.

* * *

Chopper and Naruto reappeared in the middle of the observation deck, behind the bar. He had two special Hiraishin seals burned into the wood of the ship, one in the observation deck and the other in his office. He had to be careful, though, as it was generally unwise to place more than one of the altered seals too close to one another.

A soft vibration indicated to Naruto that Kurama had noticed his return. Peeking around with his senses, he found Rowan in one of the single-occupant living quarters beneath his feet. There were a few of those, and a few larger living quarters as well. Rowan was likely growing tired of sleeping in the hammock in the Crow's Nest, and was setting up his own room. The room that Rowan was in was right across from his own, the 'Captain's Quarters,' which had been all but forced onto the blond by the Galley-La employees. His own living space was connected to his 'office', the room in which he planned to use to test seals.

An insensate Chopper was lying at his feet.

"That one didn't agree with you, did it?" he asked, amused at the look on the Reindeer's face.

Chopper shook his head pitifully and rolled over onto his stomach.

"Ah, it'll go away soon enough. It happens to everyone," Naruto said. Chopper didn't grace him with a response.

Soon enough, Chopper was back on his feet, good as new, looking just as adorably professional as he had before. He still wore the same scowl.

"So, who do I see first?" he asked. Or demanded, really. He was very bossy in this state.

An evil grin spread across Naruto's face and he looked straight up at the ceiling. "Oh, I think I know."

* * *

Kurama looked down at his idiot partner and the clothed rodent standing next to him.

"**You really are stupid, aren't you, brat?"**

"Hey!" Naruto grabbed his chest in mock pain. "That hurts. I'm just looking out for your health, you know."

"**Like hell you are. You know what we are, dumbass, you know we don't get **_**sick**__._" He said the last word scornfully.

"Actually," Chopper interrupted, "All living things can get sick," he lectured, "If you've never been ill before, it's because you just haven't yet been exposed to something that you're susceptible to."

"My teammate told me the exact same thing once," Naruto smiled at the memory. She'd discovered expired food in his fridge, a bad habit from his 'slob' days. "But I think that my partner may be right about this."

Chopper didn't look convinced, and began rifling through his bag.

Naruto met Kurama's gaze.

"As much of a joke I intended this to be, I am curious what Doctor Chopper will discover," Naruto explained to the Bijuu.

"**And why not let him examine you, instead**?"

Kurama was rather curious, as well. Most of the Doctors in the Elemental Nations had doubled as ninja, and he'd never been fond of humans in the first place, so even when his body had been flesh and bone, he'd never even considered the notion. It was a ridiculous idea, the Kyuubi, largest and most powerful of the Bijuu, being looked over by a human doctor.

In this new world, however, he didn't have to fear the ninja as he had before. He was free to do what he wanted, and though almost every part of him was screaming 'refuse' in his mind, a small part wanted to know.

It helped that the 'Doctor' was quite possible the most harmless looking thing he'd ever seen before in his life, besides, _maybe_, a human baby. That, and he couldn't sense even a fraction of negative intent from the lifeform.

"Uh," Naruto looked around suspiciously. "Well, you see…" he said lamely.

And then disappeared in a poof of smoke, the Shadow Clone returning to oblivion.

Kurama stared at the location he'd thought the original blond to be in for a few moments. "**What an asshole**," he grumbled.

Chopper stood up straight, brandishing several vials and an extremely long needle, and stared at the huge animal laying on the deck before him. He walked over to the Kyuubi, and, after only a moment of hesitation, climbed up onto the fox's back leg.

"This won't hurt a bit," Doctor Chopper said, lifting the needle high above his head.

Kurama looked down at the, to him, ant-sized doctor in boredom. "That's not going to do much," he notified the Reindeer. Chopper smiled mysteriously.

"I think that I can make it work," he said, and plunged the needle forward.

* * *

Naruto across from Shakky's husband, locked in a stare down with the man.

He'd introduced himself and been met with silence. Everyone else in the bar had been cleared out, Shakky removing them personally before departing herself, leaving the two of them in private.

He fidgeted slightly.

"You okay, old man?" he asked, and waved his hand in front of the other's face. For all he knew, the old man had a heart attack and died without anyone being the wiser, and Naruto was having a staring contest with a corpse.

Except, the man's exceptionally strong aura was still pulsing powerfully.

He hadn't even blinked.

After a full five minutes of silence, one of the most awkward periods of Naruto's entire life, the man finally spoke.

"I spoke with my wife about volunteering me for things without my knowledge," he said evenly.

Thoughts raced through Naruto's head at that admission.

"If you didn't know, then why'd you agree to meet me?" he asked.

A shorter silence ensued, lasting a little over twenty seconds this time as the man gathered his thoughts.

"I've been all over the world," he began, and Naruto prepared himself for a long narration. "And this afternoon was the first time that I've felt anything like you."

Okay, maybe not so long.

"Anything like me?" Naruto asked, feigning confusion.

Almost faster than Naruto could react to, if only due to his semi-relaxed state and their close-quarters, the man's hand darted out, jabbing at the air where Naruto's head used to be. What Naruto didn't account for, however, was the thin, hidden, nail-like item sticking slightly out of the booth that he impaled his own head on when he lurched backwards. It had obviously been planted there for that exact reason, showing an impressive level of forethought by the elder.

"What the hell, old man?" Naruto shouted, slowly and uncomfortably pulling himself off of the spike, focusing on not giving in to the dizziness that the strange energy within the spike was causing in him. Though his sense of pain was dulled, having a spike driven into his faux Chakra-rain was incredibly unpleasant. The embarrassment of being caught off guard by a geriatric was even more unpleasant. He looked up, his eye meeting the grinning visage of the older man.

"Just as I thought," the man said, nodding. "Nice to meet you, Naruto D. Uzumaki. I am Rayleigh Silvers."

Naruto stared blankly at his attempted murderer.

Rayleigh's smile didn't relent. "I see you're still upset. Allow me to explain."

He leaned over and plucked the spike from the seat, dropping it on the table carelessly.

"This spike is made out of Seastone," he said.

That didn't come close to answering Naruto's questions. "Okay…?" he replied.

Rayleigh nodded at his apparent lack of knowledge. "It is a fairly new discovery," he said. "The fact of the matter is, had you not been what you are, you would have died. Anyone would have died. You _should _have died."

That was unsettling. "You were actually trying to kill me?" he demanded loudly. He carefully looked around for any more spike before he stood up and retreated a fair distance away from the crazy man. "What's so special about that tiny spike, anyway?" He was fairly confident that Shakky's husband wasn't _actually_ trying to kill him, but being safe never hurt anyone.

"That's easy," Rayleigh said. "Seastone negates all Devil Fruit powers. This spike, whether you had eaten a Logia, Paramecia, or Zoan, should have been driven into your brain, ending your life."

Naruto felt a cold sweat creep over him. In the not-even-twenty minutes that he'd passively been in this man's presence, his secret had been found out, without any obvious cues from Naruto himself. No, the man had 'had a feeling'.

"How'd you figure it out?" Naruto asked bluntly, forgoing any attempt at deception. "Just _who_ are you?"

Rayleigh rested his head against his hand and looked over at Naruto. "It wasn't obvious, if that's what you're asking," he said.

"That's not at all what I asked," Naruto retorted.

"Oh. Well, I can tell that it's important to you, so suppose that I'll share."

Immediately after, the silence relapsed, and Rayleigh began staring hard into Naruto's forehead.

"Well?" Naruto asked, annoyed.

"Oh, I guess that answers that," Rayleigh said, furthering Naruto's confusion.

"What the hell are you talking about you crazy geezer?"

"Well, you see, when I sailed alongside Roger, we came across a tribe of interesting people that could listen to each other's thoughts," he explained, as if such a thing that people heard every day.

"You were trying to _think_ your response at me?" Naruto asked dumbly.

"It was worth a shot," Rayleigh shrugged his shoulders.

"No it wasn't!" Naruto shouted, his teeth gnashing in anger. What a stupid idea! However, something else that Rayleigh had said resonated with him. "You said… Roger? As in, _that_ Roger?"

"Young man, you're going to have to be more specific," he said jovially, "my mind isn't what it once was, you see."

"You're infuriating," Naruto said. He considered the man in front of him for a moment. "And full of shit. You know what I meant."

Rayleigh sighed. "As old as I am, I've found introducing myself grows tiresome," he lamented. "But yes, you're right. I told you my name, but the world knows me as 'The Dark King', and the First Mate of Gol D. Roger."

Naruto drew a momentary black at the Name that Rayleigh uttered, before putting two and two together.

"Wait, 'Gol D.'?" he asked. "I thought it was 'Gold'?"

Rayleigh chuckled. "A common mistake. No, like yourself, Roger carried the Will of D."

"Can't believe a fogey like you is so famous," Naruto said, looking skeptically at the old man. He stored his newfound knowledge about Roger away for later. Suddenly, he drew himself up straight, pointing a finger accusingly at Rayleigh. "You're trying to distract me!" he accused.

"Is it working?" Rayleigh joked, ignoring the sizzling glare that Naruto was aiming at him. "I wasn't. Not really. To answer your question, I simply picked up a heightened awareness when sailing alongside Roger," he said in response to Naruto's initial query. "Not the same as Roger himself, and I doubt that there's more than a handful of people capable of it or anything like it, but enough that I could tell that there was something off about you. My little experiment was just to prove it."

"If you had been wrong, I'd have died?" Naruto asked, just to be certain.

"Oh, definitely," the ex-Pirate nodded happily. "But I was… around eighty percent certain that I was right."

"That's not a very reliable number," Naruto said weakly. His anger was fading fast, being replaced by a defeated sort of acceptance. He was convinced the man was simply the victim of the onset of senility, and couldn't really get angry at him for such a thing.

"Well, what's done is done," Rayleigh said. He stood up and crossed the distance between them. "I don't know what the hell you are, and that's pretty interesting!"

"Glad I could be of service," Naruto said.

Rayleigh clapped a hand onto Naruto's shoulder. "My Shakky said that you were looking for an instructor in Haki?" he asked genially.

Naruto nodded, shrugging the wrinkled but strong hand off of his shoulder. "Yeah, but I'm not too sure of her choice anymore," he said, his words lacking any bite.

"Perfect!" Rayleigh exclaimed. "As it so happens, I recently finished tutoring my own student, and I don't much feel like starting again!"

"I can't stand you," Naruto said plainly, mostly ignoring what the man had just told him. He simply wanted to express his feelings towards the old man.

"But I don't mind imparting my knowledge on the subject," he barreled past Naruto's own comment with little care.

"Oh? Will it involve more pointy objects?" Naruto asked, his tone snide.

"What's that you said?" Rayleigh put a hand to his ear, and between each of his fingers, Naruto saw more copies of the same 'Seastone' spike he'd been impaled on earlier.

"Nothing." Wisely, Naruto quieted down.

"So, Naruto," Rayleigh said, walking over to the bar. "What do you know about Haki?" He pulled a bottle from the shelf and took a drink straight from the source, despite there being rows of cups in front of him.

"Not much," Naruto admitted, following the man over and taking a seat on one of the stools. "I was given a brief explanation by a few Minks."

"Nekomamushi and Inuarashi, right?"

Naruto looked at him strangely.

Rayleigh shrugged. "Shakky told me. Those two were subordinates of mine, after all," he explained.

"Them too?" Naruto asked incredulously. "Seems like everyone that was on that ship is unhinged now," he muttered.

The Dark King laughed at the comment. "We've always been a that way, kid," he said. "We wouldn't have gotten on the ship if we weren't." He had a point.

"Anyway," Naruto refocused, "they told me that there are three types, and that one couldn't be used by most people." He thought back to what they had told him. "Armament Haki is for creating an armor around yourself for extra defense and offense, and Observation Haki can be used to predict opponent's actions and sense their presence. They didn't know much about Conqueror's Haki."

Rayleigh looked pleased.

"I had forgotten how refreshing it is to teach someone with a brain," he said. "You know more than the average person, at least."

Naruto winced in sympathy. "Isn't that a little harsh to your last student?" he asked.

"Eh, whatever. I know it, he knows it," he said carelessly, "It doesn't make much of a difference in the long run, with instincts like that."

"If you say so," Naruto replied, still unsure.

Rayleigh studied the young man before him, before coming to a decision.

"I believe I know what to do," he said. "Although…" he trailed off.

"Yeah?" Naruto asked, hoping to prevent the man from lapsing into another silence.

"You're no stranger to training, I hope? My methods are excessively hands-on, but they are effective."

Naruto's lone eye lit up.

"That is actually the best thing that's come from your mouth yet, gramps," Naruto said in excitement. Training, he could do.

Rayleigh's mouth quirked upwards in the beginnings of a smile.

"Come back in the morning, Naruto," he said. "I'll have everything set for you then."

Naruto looked at the clock on the wall in confusion. It wasn't even ten yet.

Rayleigh noticed the look and decided to spell it out for him. "I've only been home for a few days," he said. "My wife and I have a lot of making up to do."

Naruto opened his mouth to respond before changing his mind. He stood to leave, not wanting to imagine that any further than he'd already been forced to.

As he moved towards the exit of the bar, Rayleigh called out to him. "I'll collect my favor in the next few days, kid!"

His hand was on the door when he finally sensed Shakky walking up the stairs. He froze, his mind racing furiously, searching for a way to avoid that confrontation. After a few moments, he slapped a hand to his forehead.

"'Course, Rayleigh," he said.

"One more thing?" Rayleigh stopped him from departing.

"What is it?" Naruto asked, antsy, as he felt Shakky nearing the top of the stairs.

Rayleigh met his gaze, a hint of a smile in his eyes. "Call me Ray."

Naruto blinked, surprised at the allowance. "Sure thing, _Ray."_ He said. Seconds later, he disappeared.

"Huh," Rayleigh said thoughtfully, looking at the space that Naruto had vanished from. "That's a neat trick."

* * *

If anyone remembers Saboady well enough, you'll realize what changes I've set in motion for the coming events. The bit with Chopper was just me having a little fun, and setting up for what's going to happen next chapter. Speaking of next chapter, to the people that despise me for not listing Naruto's bounty... Well...

Shadow clone training is overused and boring in fanfiction so I don't wanna use it. It's fascinating and exciting to think about, but reading it, in my experience... is less so.

Typed the first few paragraphs of this last night, and the other 24 pages today. I have... No life. And my eyes hurt.


	12. Chapter Twelve

(NOTICE 11/6) I have a really busy week, so I likely won't update for a few days. See you then!

Thanks for the reviews on my last two chapters. I know there was confusion because of release times, and I'll try to avoid that from here on out.

In-universe... Devil Fruit powers must be absolutely revolting to see...

I mentioned it before, but now I'm actively looking for a Beta Reader. If anyone knows one that they think would be happy to work with me, pm me. I'll let you all know if/when I find someone.

Just a reminder: though the content of my chapters is planned in advance, they aren't written in advance. As soon as I post a chapter, I start working on the next. Because it's all planned in advance, I don't have much wiggle room when it comes to bigger things, but smaller things change all the time. Recommendations are always welcome.

* * *

"Last chance, Chopper."

The previous night, Chopper stayed on Naruto's ship. The Shadow Clone that he'd left at the Thousand Sunny had popped, and the memories of the conversation that he'd had with the blue-haired shipwright had flooded into his mind.

Supposedly, late that night and through the early morning, Rayleigh and Franky would be finishing and perfecting the special coating that the Thousand Sunny would need to descend to Fish-Man Island, and it wouldn't be possible to stay on the ship while that was happening. That process would be taking place in Grove 17, and Shakky had managed to contact nearly all of the Straw Hats in order no get them to assemble there by one in the afternoon, as, according to Shakky, the Archipelago was going to get dangerous right around then.

It was around ten or so now, and they had just left Shakky's Bar, where she had taken the liberty of reiterating that information to them. She'd also given Naruto a bundle of scrolls that had been left for him by her husband, which, though he had yet to look at them, he assumed were the written instructions for unlocking and utilizing Haki that Rayleigh had promised him.

Despite the time limit that they found themselves under, Chopper wanted to do the last-minute shopping in Grove 46 that he hadn't managed to complete before. And so, they found themselves at a fork in the paths before them.

The Reindeer nodded resolutely.

"It's my duty as the Straw Hat's Doctor to be as prepared as possible!" he declared, puffing out his chest in pride.

Naruto looked up at the sun in the sky.

"If you say so," he said, shrugging, and the two took the right path, towards Grove 46, instead of the left, which would have eventually brought them to Grove 17.

* * *

A few stores and countless scam attempts later, and Naruto was beginning to grow annoyed. Nearly two hours had gone by, and Chopper had been met with disappointment in the Grove in almost every way they turned. He'd noticed early on that there were more people about than usual, and that the majority of them were far shadier than normal, but he'd put it from his mind in the wake of keeping Chopper from falling for the numerous cons he'd almost been subjected to.

As the time ticked by, the density of people decreased, and concentrating, Naruto could feel that they'd begun congregating in the more run-down section of the Grove they'd passed by on their way in. He reached into his jacket and pulled out the flyer he'd ripped from the bulletin board the day before.

He'd initially passed it off as a scam, much like the ones that he and Chopper were experiencing now, but the various strong presences that were either in that target area or moving towards it actually gave the flyer some credibility.

"You guys hear? Straw Hat's ordered a meeting."

Naruto turned sharply at the words, his attention falling on a group of men in an alley on the other side of the street. Among them, the one he assumed to have spoken, was a pale-skinned man covered head-to-toe in green-tinted bandages. He had three knives strapped to his hip and another, larger one strapped to his back.

'_So, either a skilled impersonator or Straw Hat himself is heading the recruitment,_' Naruto thought calmly. He looked down at Chopper, who was completely oblivious, happily eating his small bundle of cotton candy as they walked down the road.

"Say, Chopper," he wrested the Reindeer's attention away from his snack, holding the poster down so the short animal could see it as well. "I think this is happening now, have you thought about since yesterday?"

Chopper nodded his head happily. "I actually wanted to go, but I forgot all about it!" he giggled and took another bite out of his candy. "But I want to go to one last shop that I saw, first!"

Naruto groaned inwardly. He was ready for some excitement, not more shopping! However, he'd promised Chopper to help him with his errands, and he wasn't going to stop now. He could wait a few more minutes.

"Course," he smiled and nodded to the little Pirate, who beamed up at him happily and skipped towards their – hopefully – final store.

* * *

Naruto, Chopper tucked under his arm, exited the shop, furious. One look at the single, sleazy employee within, and Naruto could tell that Chopper wouldn't get what he was looking for. However, he sure as hell hadn't expected the man to approach him while Chopper was exploring the contents of the shelves and offer to _buy _the strange Reindeer off of him.

A few seconds after he'd left the establishment, the disgusting man burst through the doors as well, terror clear on his face. Billows of smoke followed him, and the glow of the fire that was quickly enveloping what Naruto hoped to be his entire livelihood could be seen growing within. The blond ninja walked away with a satisfied smirk on his face.

When they were a sufficient distance away, Naruto set Chopper down, who looked up at him in confusion.

"Why'd you do that, Naruto?" he asked warily. It was the first time he'd actually seen Naruto do anything violent, and while the Straw Hats were destructive, they didn't usually go around tormenting people for no reason.

Naruto crouched and patted the Reindeer on the head. "Eh," he intoned, "don't worry about it. I promise that he deserved it." He smiled, his eye squinting, and stood back up.

"I'm pretty sure I know where everyone's gathering," he said, not giving Chopper the chance to pry further. "Wanna check it out?"

Chopper's eyes went wide, and he forgot all about the previous incident. With a shout of happiness, he suddenly began growing and shifting, startling Naruto into silence.

"Can you tie my bubbles around my antlers?" he asked, and though still deeply shocked at the transformation, Naruto nodded, doing so quickly. He numbly noticed that Chopper's voice hadn't changed at all.

He regained his voice after a few seconds. "That's new," he stated neutrally.

Chopper turned towards him, the more Reindeer-like form making the movement slightly awkward. "Huh? Oh, this?" he said. "This is one of my Zoan Fruit's special forms," he explained. "I have others, but I'm fastest in this one!"

Naruto nodded. He'd known that Zoan fruits gave the users special forms, he'd just… forgotten that Chopper's Fruit fit that category.

"What are you waiting for, Naruto? Let's go!" the Reindeer shouted, and turned forward to begin running before he realized something important. "Uh, which way is it?"

Naruto chuckled at the Doctor's excitement. "You said that you're fast, right?" he asked. Chopper nodded. "Then try to keep up!"

He took off at a fairly sedate pace, making sure that Chopper was able to match his speed, if not overtake him. He could hear the Reindeer's pants of exertion as he struggled to take the lead.

When they were nearing the meeting place, Naruto took note of yet another force making its way in their direction, and, recognizing it for what it was, hastily clapped a hand to his wrist and withdrew his Anbu mask. Being seen consorting with Pirates would put a damper on a number of his future plans. He evenly stuck the disguise to his face and it sealed on seamlessly. Seconds later, he and Chopper burst into the clearing, winding up towards the back of the crowd.

He looked down at the now-tiny Reindeer that was heaving lungfuls of air, collapsed at his feet.

"You're so _fast_, Naruto!" he praised between breaths. He peeked up at Naruto and was surprised by his change of attire. "Why'd you put on a mask?" He recognized it from the blond's bounty poster.

"Ah, well," he said. "It's about to get very exciting around here."

It was a vague response, and Chopper wasn't certain how to respond to it.

A single gunshot rang out, slowly bringing silence to the huge crowd of Pirates around them.

"Everyone, shut up!" a rough voice yelled, and Naruto's eyes were drawn to the top of a mostly-intact building from which the shout had originated.

A middle-aged rotund man, wearing a straw hat, was holding a flintlock pistol high above him.

"It's Luffy!" Chopper whispered in excitement. Naruto placed a foot on his head to prevent him from shooting forward to greet who he believed to be his Captain.

"Chopper, that is definitely not Luffy," he stated, shaking his head. "That guy's gotta be at least forty," he reasoned.

"But, why is he dressed like Luffy, then?" the Reindeer asked innocently. Thankfully, they were far enough away that their conversation didn't reach any of the other Pirate's ears.

"It's another scam," Naruto explained. "Like the ones you ran into during your shopping trip."

Choppers expression grew angry. It was obvious, now that it had been said out loud. He didn't look anything like the Luffy he remembered. "That jerk! He can't use Luffy's name like that!"

Naruto leaned over to pick the Reindeer up, placing him on his shoulder. "Something tells me he won't be getting away with it for much longer," he said mysteriously. Chopper nodded, though he remained confused. He hoped that the blond was right.

The impersonator took a few steps forward, waving his gun around. "We've already found one of the perpetrators that insulted me. It's this guy!" he declared.

He turned, pointing the firearm at someone behind him. It was a young boy with a seemingly slight frame, though the enormous stuffed backpack that he was toting contradicted that observation. Naruto was far enough away that he couldn't quite make out the boy's features without concentrating further, and his attention was split between the scene ahead of him and the stealthy approach of countless Marines from all around him.

'_Gotta hand it to them_,' he thought, looking around at the oblivious Pirates. '_this is a pretty good ambush_.'

The more powerful presence he'd felt among the Marines when he'd initially entered the Archipelago was approaching, as well. Now that he was paying more attention to it, he could tell that it actually eclipsed Bartolomeo's by a wide margin, though the feeling of it was different than the Cannibal's own.

"I'll teach him a lesson, first, about how powerful I am!" the man bragged, clenching his fist and turning back to the crowd. "What I'm about to do to him is a warning to you all! Don't cross me, or this is how you'll end up! Got it?!"

The entire crowd began cheering, the uproar conveniently masking the sound of the sudden appearance of the horde of Marines.

"That it, Pirates!" a Captain shouted out, the men around him taking positions and brandishing their weapons. "Straw Hat Luffy and his followers, surrender immediately! We have all of the exits in Grove 46 blocked! There's no escape!"

Naruto watched the impersonator on his stage, wondering what he planned to do. He seemed to be having a rushed conversation with a fat green-haired man.

He turned back to the crowd of Pirates.

"Hey, Caribou!" he shouted, pointing straight forward. Naruto followed the direction of the finger, and his gaze landed on a tall, intimidating, dark-skinned man. "Use the Marine as a shield and make us a way out!" he ordered.

Near the now-identified Caribou, Naruto saw what the Fake-Straw Hat was referencing: a Marine with a spear sticking out of his gut was on the ground shaking in agony, his blood staining his white coat red. Naruto grimaced. Gut wounds really were the worst. Chopper was looking around the clearing wildly, trying to think a way out of the situation he'd found himself in.

Caribou and Fake-Luffy had a shouted conversation, and Naruto watched the malicious looking man approach the downed marine.

"How are your medical skills on the fly, Doctor Chopper?" Naruto asked tersely as he watched the Pirate take hold of the spear and lift the Marine up into the air by it. He didn't wait for the Reindeer's response, disappearing in a _Shunshin_ with Chopper still on his shoulder.

He reappeared midair with his left leg extended in a kick. Where Caribou's head used to be was now an empty space, brown ooze bubbling from his neck.

'_That's weird_,' Naruto thought. '_And gross_.'

However, he pushed that thought to the side and twisted, spinning around to grab the spear with both hands. He wrenched it from the not-dead man's grasp, and leapt away, using his chest as a springboard.

He landed, his head faced down, in front of the sword-toting Captain he'd met when he first came back to the Archipelago. Gently, he lowered the injured Marine to the ground, and after only a moment to gather his bearings, Chopper hopped off of his shoulder, rushing to treat the tortured man.

Naruto stood and lifted his head. All of the Marines with a view of him either froze or took cautionary steps back, putting distance between themselves and the easily-recognizable masked man before them.

"You!" the Captain said in shock. He rapidly brandished the longsword at his waist.

"Yeah, me," Naruto said casually. He turned away began walking back towards Caribou. The Marine didn't follow, not wanting to be the one to begin the conflict between Marine and Pirate. All eyes in the clearing were on the blond, now.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" the imposter shouted at him from the top of the building. He'd seen Naruto easily take the head off of the most-wanted Pirate in the clearing with ease, and had broken out in a heavy sweat.

"Oh, shut the hell up," he commanded the man, whose mouth snapped shut in shock. "And you," Naruto said, shifting his focus to the still-headless Caribou. "If you're gonna kill someone, just do it," he said. "Torturing him like that? Not cool."

The man's head slowly reformed in front of him, and Naruto suppressed a grimace. It was nasty to see. 'Caribou' fell to his knees, and tears began leaking from his eyes.

"Oh, gods, please have mercy on this one!" he pleaded, clasping his hands together and looking up at the sky. A strange, large man behind him began praying as well. Naruto feared he'd run into another religious zealot.

"Then again," he stood abruptly, and his voice grew cold. His large, forked tongue waved about menacingly. "He dared to strike me."

Caribou and Naruto stared each other down in the middle of the tense, silent clearing.

"The ones that kill that man and the most marines will become my right-hand men!" Fake-Luffy shouted, breaking the Naruto and Caribou's stare down.

Caribou's mouth split open in a feral grin once more, and he laughed. "This is just perfect," he said, and began rushing at Naruto. All around them, the cease-fire was broken, and the battle between Marine and Pirate broke out.

Naruto's eye darted in Chopper's direction. The reindeer was furiously working on stitching up the injured Marine, though the area he was doing so in could no longer be considered safe. His focus split between Caribou and Chopper, and he decided that he needed to choose one or the other. Before he could do so, a high-pitched whirring sound began to form in the courtyard. Naruto witness Caribou's eyes widen in shock before he was struck by a beam of light, and was consumed by an explosion. Naruto saw bits and pieces of whichever element the Logia, he assumed, Devil Fruit user was go flying in every direction.

"Pirate: 'Wet-Haired' Caribou verified. Wanted: Dead or Alive." A monotone voice stated.

"Logia, huh?" a new, more commanding voice rang out. "I'll have to take care of you myself."

The new arrival was a large man, wielding an even larger double-bladed axe. The standard Marine coat was draped over his shoulders, and the triple _tomoe_ design on the shirt he wore under it forced a wince from Naruto. He was nearly double Naruto's height, but against the twin giants behind him, he looked like a child.

"Pacifista!" an unidentified Pirate shouted out, running in terror.

The giants were identical. Easily over twenty feet in height, they both wore matching jackets decorated with paw prints and a large target over the middle. On their head, partially obscuring their blank eyes were trapezoidal grey spotted hats. Naruto, focusing intently, could barely sense anything from them at all.

'_These are just like that man from the Sunny!_' he realized. It was mostly true. The man from the sunny, however, had been more than just a 'blip'; when Naruto had concentrated, he could feel his impressive strength lying dormant within him.

"Pirate: 'Straw Hat,' Luffy D. Monkey verified. Bounty: 400 Million Beli. Wanted: Dead or Alive," one intoned, its voice blank and robotic.

The other looked down at Naruto, the only one that hadn't initiated a retreat when the trio of Marine reinforcement appeared.

Its eyes flashed red, and it opened its mouth a moment later. "Pirate: 'Demon Fox,' Naruto D. Uzumaki verified. Bounty: 688 Million Beli. Wanted: Alive," it said, bringing everyone in the clearing to a screeching halt. Most of the Pirates began doing their best to get away from him, though the Marines that hadn't already recognized him were looking at the man that had rescued one of their own in confusion.

"What?!" shouted the Fake-Luffy, staring bug-eyed at Naruto.

The axe-wielding Marine leveled his weapon at Naruto.

"You're not supposed to be here," he stated, his voice even and strong.

Naruto chuckled nervously. "Ah, well," he said, "You see, on my way out of Mary Geoise, a black cat crossed my path, so I decided to take the long route here."

The Marine looked at him incredulously. "It's been a month," he stated, a hint of anger present in his voice at the obvious falsehood. The Pacifistas behind him opened their mouths and a light began to gather within them.

Naruto, sensing the giant's intent, quickly formed a clone next to him and clasped a hand to his wrist, activating a specific storage seal. A large puff of smoke momentarily obscured his form.

"It was a really long route," he said. From the cloud of smoke, he brandished his weapon.

Easily as tall and as wide as him, Kubikiribocho sat comfortably in his left hand, resting on his shoulder.

"Devil Fruit?" Sentomarou gasped, staring at his doppelgänger.

"Sure, why not?" Naruto responded with a grin. He passed the sword off to his clone. "Go wild. Bring it back when you're done," he ordered. The clone mirrored his grin, taking the sword in a two-handed grip. As Naruto _Shunshin'_d away, his clone launched its attack, and the pandemonium in the clearing began anew.

* * *

He landed near Chopper as the Doctor was completing the Marine's treatment. The bloodied spear lay off to the side and the Marine's eyes were shut in unconsciousness.

'_Puru puru puru puru puru' _

Distracted, Naruto reached inside of his jacked and removed the Baby Den Den Mushi he'd recently taken to carrying around. He pressed a button on it, and it 'clicked', the face of the snail coming to life.

"Yo," Naruto said casually, as though he wasn't in the middle of a battlefield.

"Naruto?" a familiar voice asked.

"Ray!" Naruto exclaimed. "What's up?" He casually backhanded a Pirate that was growing too close to Chopper as the Reindeer packed up his supplies.

"Listen, Naruto. Remember that favor that you owed me?" he questioned.

"Yeah…?" Naruto replied carefully.

"I'm calling it in."

Naruto sighed in exasperation. "Most people wait a good few days before calling in their favors, gramps," he complained.

"None of that, now," Rayleigh chided. "I need you to keep the Marines away from my student so that he can reunite with his friends," he requested.

Naruto looked around at the mess he was in. "Can't you do it? I'm sort of in the middle of something," he said.

"The Straw Hat recruitment, right?" Rayleigh asked knowingly. "He should be somewhere around there. Use that fancy sensing of yours to find him."

Naruto rolled his eye. He'd told the ex-Pirate about the ability that morning, and the man had been suitably impressed. He'd relayed that only the most skilled users of Observation Haki were able to do something similar.

Naruto paused for a moment to feel around the clearing. There were a few powerful people within it, though none stood out as much as the red-shirted Marine and the skinny boy that had been behind the Fake Straw Hat.

"I can't be sure, but… I think I'm looking at him," he said into the Baby Den Den Mushi.

"Well, what does he look like?" Rayleigh asked impatiently. "Does he look like an idiot?"

Naruto squinted, peering closer. On the kid's face was a clearly fake nose and mustache, and he was staring blankly, confused, at the proceedings before him.

"I- uh, yeah…" Naruto admitted. The boy began running away, lugging the large backpack along with him. Naruto's clone returned to his side, dispelling as it returned Kubikiribocho to Naruto's grasp. From where it came, Naruto could see the Fake Straw Hat crumbled on the ground, the Axe Wielding Marine above him. The Giants, looking worse for wear after his Shadow Clone's assault, were aiming their beams at what Naruto thought to be the real Straw Hat.

"That's him, alright!" Rayleigh said cheerfully. "Tell him to meet his crew in Grove 42!"

"Shoot at him, PX-5!" The large marine yelled, and the giant released a charged beam of energy from its mouth, cutting off the boy's escape route. The acrobatics the kid used to escape the explosion divested him of his coat and his poorly chosen mustache disguise, revealing the Straw Hat and familiar face for the world to see.

"Ah shit," Naruto said, looking at the destruction. He grabbed Chopper, who protested for a moment before realizing who was picking him up, and tucked him under his arm. "Gotta go, Ray. I'll let him know." He took a look around the clearing, making sure that he was accounting for all the variables that could interfere with his new task. "He really shoulda told me that Straw Hat was his protege, of all people," he muttered quietly as he stored the Baby Den Den Mushi into his jacket, hanging it up.

He looked down to Chopper, under his arm. "You catch any of that, Doctor?" he asked. Chopper shook his head. "That's alright. Make sure to tell Luffy to meet his crew in Grove 42!"

Naruto didn't wait for Chopper to acknowledge that, feeling the Reindeer squirm in excitement at the mention of his Captain, using _Shunshin_ the next second to appear between Straw Hat and the light beam wielding giants, holding Kubikiribocho at an angle.

The three beams that had been released were deflected away by the large, flat-bladed sword, flying from their initial trajectory and up into the tops of the Mangrove trees, exploding and sending a shower of leaves and splinters onto the people below.

"Oi, Straw Hat!" Naruto said, loudly enough for the boy to hear. The area immediately around him had cleared out, the average Pirates and Marines not wanting to get between the battle that was sure to come. Sensing that he had Luffy's attention, Naruto turned and planted his sword in the ground in front of him. He grabbed ahold of Chopper and lifted him above his head. "I think you're forgetting someone!"

"Luffy!" Chopper held his hooves out, tears streaming down his face.

A grin, identical to the one pictured in his Bounty, spread wide on Luffy's face at the first sight of his smallest crewmate after two years. He threw back his arms and Naruto watched in mild confusion as they stretched backwards, much further than should have been possible. It was mildly grotesque. Suddenly, the arms snapped forward at lightning speed, and the boy's two hands traveled the hundred feet between them in the blink of an eye, latching around the now-laughing Doctor of his crew.

"Chopper!" he shouted in happiness once he had him in his grasp, and the Reindeer Doctor giggled, though the next moment he went wide-eyed as the reality of the situation he was about to be in hit him. Held tightly in Luffy's hands, he shot back towards the boy, open mouth flapping wildly in the wind, and bowled into his chest, sending them both spinning end-over-end.

Naruto chuckled at the sight. Eventually, Luffy stood up, Chopper still in his arms.

"Thanks, guy!" he shouted, and a tic mark appeared on Naruto's forehead.

"You just heard the Pacifista say my name, idiot!" he shouted, shaking his fist at the Pirate.

He saw Chopper whisper something to Luffy, who looked back towards him. "Thanks, Nato!" he shouted again, laughing. He picked up his back and strapped it to his back once more. Chopper climbed to the top of it, grabbing ahold of the straps for safety.

"Whatever," Naruto muttered, pouting. "Just go," he called, louder. "I got this!"

Luffy nodded and began running away once more. Naruto lazily removed his sword from the ground and returned his attention to the Pacifista and Marine.

"Skilled enough to evade an Admiral, and you're helping Straw Hat?" the well-informed Marine asked. The axe was still lying over his shoulder, and he was looking down at Naruto in contempt.

"Just paying back a favor," Naruto answered. One of the Pacifista tried to break away to follow Straw Hat, and he moved to intercept it. The Marine tried to stop him, but he fluidly bent his body around the predictable slash of the man's weapon, and continued on his way.

"You know," he said to the Marine, midair, "I was only testing how much of a beating these things could take, earlier." He began to channel his Chakra to the blade, the metal of it thrumming gently. The invisible Wind Chakra picked up around it, and with a solid slice, the Pacifista neatly fell in half. Naruto landed lightly beside the bisected corpse, grinning at the simple achievement. "I was pretty disappointed."

However, he wasn't prepared for its destroyed form to be consumed in an enormous explosion, momentarily blinding him, though it did little else. His temporary distraction with the unexpected event allowed the other Cyborg to escape his onslaught, charging towards the Straw Hat boy and his small crewmate. Before Naruto could move to intercept it, two more individuals entered the fray, dispatching it with ease. Naruto recognized one of them from the line of bounty posters that Shakky had on her wall, though the other was a mystery. He felt the green-haired one's attention fall on him, or, more specifically, his sword. When he looked at the man's face, he was almost delighted to see that he was staring at yet another half-blind individual, much like himself. The same spirit that he could see in his bounty poster burned brightly in the swordsman's lone eye.

The way that Straw Hat and Chopper greeted them, though, showed that they all knew one another, and they quickly took off in the direction of Grove 42 as a group.

The fighting around Naruto was quickly wrapping up, most of the Pirates either killed or captured. Naruto had seen the bandaged man slink away, and he didn't know if the Pacifista's attack had killed the so-called 'Caribou' or not.

He was about to turn back to the Marine to wrap up their fight and make his escape, when another shout from Straw Hat caught his attention.

"Rayleigh!" the wanted Pirate yelled, and Naruto followed his gaze to one of the lower tree branches in Grove 46. Upon it was Rayleigh, looking at the scene with amusement in his eyes.

Naruto's eye twitched in annoyance. "Has he been here the whole time?" he ground out, the words only audible to himself.

"I came here to check on you, in case Naruto proved to be incompetent," he announced for the entire clearing to hear.

"Who the hell are you calling incompetent," Naruto shouted at the man angrily. He brandished his sword and pointed it at the ex-Pirate. "Why'd you make me do this if you were just going to sit around in that tree the whole time!?"

Rayleigh ignored him, not breaking eye contact with Luffy, who was looking up at him in admiration. "But it seems that everything worked out well. Now, go to your friends!"

"Thank you for everything, Rayleigh!" Luffy shouted, setting down his backpack with Chopper still on it.

"Just go!" Rayleigh commanded. But, his pupil wasn't done.

Luffy took a step forward, and Naruto saw Rayleigh's features change from surprise to shock. Fearlessly, in front of all the Marines and restrained Pirates in the clearing, Luffy lifted both hands into the air and clenched his fists, a huge grin spread across his face. "I'll do it, Rayleigh!" he proclaimed.

"I'm gonna become the King of the Pirates!"

* * *

I think I should stop there for now.

I hope that the thing with the injured Marine was in character for Chopper. It was for Naruto, in my opinion, but I can't quite remember Chopper's stance on treating patients. Does he treat everyone, or only allies? He treated the Minks while barely knowing them... I dunno.

I did mention in the third chapter that Naruto took a few more things with him, didn't I? It was only a single line, but it was there. I've made Naruto somewhat of a swordsman in this for a specific reason, other than '_swordsmen are coo_l' (Even though they totally are). It'll come to light in ten chapters or so.

Something that won't come up in this story (but will come up in the prequel, if I decide to write it once I'm done with this), but is part of my Naruto's past, is that the Kubikiribocho is the weapon he'd started using during his time's 4th Ninja War. I wanted to give Naruto the Kubikiribocho because, in my eyes, it's the most plain out of the seven swords, and it's also the one that he has the most connection with. Also most of the others are barely even swords. Seriously, they are some goofy weapons.

Naruto not noticing Rayleigh is going to be explained next chapter. It's how I'm nerfing Naruto's sensing ability until he figures out how to advance his observation Haki, because, to be honest, it's a little bit broken, and a crutch that I've been leaning on. Here, Naruto wasn't able to sense Rayleigh, but Luffy was - that's because Luffy has unlocked and trained his Haki. The Chakra-Devil Fruit-Haki dynamic will become clearer, as well.

This wasn't the fight that I mentioned earlier. As soon as the Straw Hats are gone, Naruto is out! I don't want Naruto to fight Sentomarou yet. It looks like we're about to learn a bit more about that character in the Manga, and I don't want to contradict that, as it seems somewhat important to the plot. No, Naruto's first big fight will be against an established Baddie, hopefully one that you guys don't expect (though I dropped a tiny hint in an earlier chapter).


	13. Chapter Thirteen

NOTICE 11/19: Sorry for the wait, guys. I told myself I wasn't gonna do it, but the new Pokemon came out a few days ago, I bought it, and it completely dominated my weekend. CH 14 is about 2/5 done. I'm being kind of anal about the action scenes. I've not written too many fight scenes before, so I want them to be as good as I can make them. Give me a few more days.

* * *

'_Puru puru puru puru'_

Rowan was sleeping with his head in his arms inside of the observation deck when he heard it. There were a few Den Den Mushi on the ship, and they all responded to the same signal, so that when one rang, they all did. The loud tone of the snail woke him up suddenly, however, and he looked around blearily for the source of the noise.

Remembering where he was, his eyes fell on the snail on the bar counter, and he stood up to answer it. Only a few people had their ship's communication information, after all.

By the time he got to it, it had stopped ringing, and the animation of its face showed that someone must have picked up the other line. He knew that it was probably rude, but Rowan decided to pick up the line anyway.

"-_like an idiot?_" he heard an unfamiliar voice ask.

"_I- uh, yeah…"_ was the response, and Rowan recognized Naruto's voice immediately. The basic Den Den Mushi only transmitted the sound of a person's voice, so Rowan had zero context for the conversation he'd begun listening to halfway through.

"_That's him, alright! Tell him to meet his crew in Grove 42_!" the unidentified voice said. Rowan thought he sounded sort of old.

"_Ah, shit. Gotta go, Ray. I'll let him know_," Naruto said. "_He really shoulda told me that Straw Hat was his protégé, of all people_," Rowan heard Naruto mutter, and then the line went dead.

Rowan stared at the blank snail in shock. '_Naruto is with Luffy?_' he thought to himself, astonished.

"Luffy is _here_?" he realized, vocalizing the thought out loud.

"What of it?" came a voice from the entrance of the bar.

Rowan jumped in shock, and spun around, looking for the one that'd busted him. Naruto, likely a clone, Rowan thought, was leaning against the wall next to the doorway, staring at him in consideration. The saloon-style doors were swinging back and forth behind him, a sign that he'd just entered the room.

"N-nothing, Naruto," Rowan stammered. "I'm just surprised, that's all!" He laughed nervously.

Naruto lookalike stared at him, and Rowan got the feeling that not a word of what he'd said had been believed.

"By the way," Rowan continued, his eyes darting around, landing anywhere but the clone's face. "Do you think it would be okay if we visited Grove 42?"

"Right now?" the Chakra construct asked, the serious look remaining. "Any particular reason, or is it just a coincidence that that's where the Straw Hats are?"

'_Crap! He heard!_' Rowan thought, panicked.

"We're already on our way there, don't worry," the clone began again. "But I think that you and the Boss are gonna be having a little chat when this is all over." Without giving the reeling Rowan a chance to respond, it exited the observation deck and made its way past the wheel, which was being manned by one of the other remaining clones.

Rowan clenched his fists. '_I'll get to see him!_'

He ran out of the bar and sprinted all of the way to the bow of the ship, waiting for what was to come.

* * *

A massive gash appeared in between Naruto and the Marines he'd intercepted that were intent on chasing after the Straw Hats. Rayleigh dropped from the air, landing to stand side-by-side with Naruto.

"Now, now," he chided. "Let my student start his journey in peace. It's the first time he's seen his friends in two years, after all."

"W-what the hell is this line?" one of the Marines asked, shaking in his boots at the sight of 'Dark King' Rayleigh.

"Oh, this? I recommend that you not cross it," Rayleigh said with a dark smile on his face, leveling his sword at the quivering contingent of Marines.

Off to the side, Naruto leaned in to closer study Rayleigh's face, noticing something slightly out of place. "Are those tears, old man?" he asked.

"Get out of here, kid," Rayleigh said, ignoring the question. "They'll be sending the bigger guns after you soon."

Naruto relaxed and mock-saluted the ex-Pirate. "Whatever you say, old-timer." In front of them, the Marines had finally worked up their courage.

"What are you doing?" A Captain shouted to his men. "After them! Capture the Straw Hats!"

"Am I invisible?" Naruto asked, holding his arms out in front of him to check.

"He was their original mission." Rayleigh said. He reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a small object. "Before you leave, take this," he tossed the orb to Naruto, and turned back to hold off the horde of Marines.

Naruto resealed Kubikiribocho into his arm and studied the gift. It was a Log Pose, but different than the ones that he so far had in his collection. Instead of a single 'needle', there were three. It didn't lead to an island in the first half of the Grand Line, then.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with this?" he asked Rayleigh, who's attention didn't break from the fight he was in.

"What else?" he asked. "_She_ said to tell you to follow it. Now go!" He released a flying slash that sent all but the most resilient of his attackers to the ground.

Naruto shrugged and pocketed the item. "Tell her I'll miss her!" he called in farewell. He turned and dashed out of the clearing in the direction his ship that he could tell was on its way to Grove 42. He had a lot to think about. Something about that Luffy had felt extremely familiar, but he couldn't identify just what it was.

* * *

He caught sight of his ship as he was exiting the forestry of Grove 43. So large that it looked to be standing still in the water, it hovered ominously a couple hundred feet off of the coast, looming over the other ships in the area.

Naruto frowned, removing his mask once he was sure there was no one in the area to see him do so. The other boats in the area happened to be the Thousand Sunny, an unidentified ship, and a slew of identifiable Marine Battleships, which… was a problem. He'd promised Rayleigh that he'd help the Straw Hats escape to Fish-Man island, but he couldn't risk implicating his own ship in criminal activities. Were he on the other side of the Red Line, he wouldn't mind, but his ship was too large to be coated and traverse the depths of the ocean – he'd have to either take it across one of the Calm Belt entrances, that were heavily patrolled by the forces of the Yonko that controlled them, or through Mary Geoise's Gate, which allowed only non-criminal ships to pass through.

'_What the hell are my idiot clones doing_?' he thought. '_I didn't say to get involved_!'

Thinking quickly as he reached the shore, he knelt to the ground, placing one hand atop the ocean water and the other set in a hand seal in front of his chin. Silently, he began one of the more historically infamous techniques in the Elemental Nations, one that was known to be regularly used by many Ninja from Kiri.

A blanket of mist grew outward, creeping across the surface of the ocean. As it billowed closer to the ships, he saw a peculiar scene: leaning off of the gnarled knot of roots that had been threaded together at the bow to form the figurehead was Rowan, waving frantically and shouting something in the direction of the Thousand Sunny. As enhanced as his senses were, Naruto still couldn't hear the vocalization from over a mile away.

The layout of the Thousand Sunny prevented him from seeing any of its residents, though, so he had no way of knowing if any of the Straw Hats reacted to his young charge, and soon, the mist had reached far enough to block even the view between the two ships.

Only after he was certain that the Straw Hats had finally submerged did he release his control on the Hiding in Mist technique. It faded slowly, and he took the time to travel the distance from the shore to his ship, boarding it out of view of the Marines.

Once on board, he found Rowan and the clone he'd left in charge standing near the bow of the ship, and cast a disapproving look at both of them.

"This wasn't part of our plan," he remarked, looking back and forth between the two.

The clone, without hesitation, pointed at Rowan, taking a step to the side. "I just did what we were supposed to. He's the one that started shouting," he accused.

Naruto deadpanned. "You brought us into the middle of it. Rowan wasn't steering, was he?" He dispelled it carelessly. "Why am I arguing with myself, anyway?"

Rowan had a hopeful look on his face when the clone disappeared, but, after taking a moment to sift through what he'd just learned through the dismissal of the Shadow Clone, Naruto turned, drilling him with another _look. _

"Nice try, Rowan," he said. "But don't forget; when they pop, it all comes back to me." He tapped himself on the temple, accentuating his point. Rowan's hope was dashed, and he looked at his feet in disappointment. Naruto formed another Shadow Clone to take over the wheel and walked to the edge of the ship, leaning against the railing casually. "So, you really do know him, huh?" he asked.

Rowan nodded, not verbally replying.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Naruto asked. "It's not like that's some horrible secret, I mean, I already figured that you had _some _kind of connection to him, the way you acted around that Bartolomeo."

Rowan looked at Naruto for a few seconds, considering whether or not to share what he'd been keeping.

Finally, after staring into the face of his savior for what seemed like hours, he decided.

"I knew Luffy when I was a kid," he began. "We lived on the same island, you know."

Naruto listened intently.

"I wanted to be just like him, even though my mom never would have let me be a Pirate. All the other parents told their kids about how bad Pirates are, but mom never…" he paused, and Naruto could see in him the telltale sign of glistening eyes. "She never did. She said she looked after Luffy when he was younger, and if he was gonna be a Pirate, then that meant that they couldn't all be bad. She used to tell me stories about a Pirate she knew, but…"

"Before I was… taken, I got to say 'bye to him when he left, and I kept all of his pictures from the News. He made me promise that I wouldn't leave 'til I was seventeen and… only if it was okay with my mom."

Naruto watched as the boy sniffed and rubbed a hand against his eye, trying to rid himself of his tears before they appeared.

"When I was _there_ I hoped that he would save me. Everyone knew what he did to that Celestial Dragon, after all. But then he disappeared, and I thought he was dead."

"You had access to the news?" Naruto asked. How else would he have heard?

Rowan shook his head. "No," he said. "When new people were brought in, I would ask about him. After a few weeks, they started saying he was gone."

"Well," Naruto said, considering the new information that he'd been handed. He plopped down on the wooden floor, leaning his back against the rail. "That answers a few things I've been wondering about."

He saw that Rowan still looked hesitant, and appeared to be refusing to meet his gaze. "Oh, stop pouting," he said, sticking a leg out and poking the boy with his foot playfully. "It's not like I'm upset. I just wish you'd have told me sooner, maybe then I could have gotten you and Straw Hat some time together."

Rowan smiled softly. "He recognized me," he said. "He waved back and I think he yelled my name."

"That's good," Naruto said. He meant it, too. It was a good thing that Rowan still had connections from _before_. That was something that many of the others he'd rescued lacked; most of their families had either sold them off or been killed, leaving them with no one to go back to. Which led Naruto to his next question.

"So… Why haven't I brought you back to your home, yet?" he asked. Idly, he sifted through the memories of a clone that had just ended itself, relaying the sight of the Marine crafts being held up by the one other boat in the area, the one that appeared to be led by tall, beautiful woman with some measure of authority over the government employees. It was hard to tell, as Naruto's own ship hadn't stopped since the confrontation, and was steadily making its way towards Mary Geoise's Gate, but it appeared that the ship's entire crew was comprised of women.

Rowan flinched at the question, and one of his arms shot to his stomach.

"You've been using the Den Den Mushi to call your mother, right?"

Rowan nodded, looking down at the hand that had involuntarily placed itself over his midsection.

"I can't go home," he said.

"Why's that? I'm sure that I could take you there right now," Naruto countered.

Rowan lifted up his shirt, exposing the brand on his stomach for the both of them to see. The symbol was maroon in color, centered directly over his navel. A circle with four matching 'claws', three on the top, one on the bottom. To the world, it was known as the symbol of the slaves of the Celestial Dragons, 'The Hoof of the Soaring Dragon'. Naruto knew of its existence on Rowan, but the boy had only exposed it a handful of times.

"I can't go home," Rowan repeated. "If someone sees this," he pointed to the exposed brand, "I'll be reported to the Marines, and captured again. And," he continued, "anyone that helps me will get in trouble, too."

Naruto's lip curled. 'In trouble' probably meant 'enslaved', knowing the World Nobles. Rowan refused to go back home in order to protect it.

"I get it," Naruto said solemnly. "But…" he trailed off, trying to think of a way to continue without being demeaning to such an adult child. "Is she okay with this? Your mother, I that is." He gestured to himself, and then to the ship as a whole, trying to convey the idea of their new, Pirating way of life. "You did say she'd have a problem with it."

Rowan's eyes darted back and forth in a way that immediately drew Naruto's suspicion. He studied Rowan's nervous body language, the way that he'd grown even _more _tense at the question, and came to a sudden realization.

He pointed accusingly at Rowan. "Oi!" he said, his voice louder than usual. "You haven't told her yet, have you?"

The boy's guilty look was enough confirmation for Naruto.

"What the hell does she think is going on, then?" he asked disbelievingly.

Rowan shifted, leaning on one foot more than the other. "Well," he said slowly. "it's complicated."

Naruto deadpanned at the statement. "No, shit," he said.

"Mom didn't know what happened to me," he explained. "She thought I was dead. So… I haven't told her yet."

Naruto stared. "Kid, that's not okay," he said. "Yeah, it's going to break her heart," Rowan flinched once more, "But she needs to know what happened to you. Especially since you're apparently not going back. And what about your dad?"

"I dunno who he is," Rowan said. "Mom wouldn't tell me, said that I was too young to know." He, finally, looked up to Naruto's face. "And I know. I should tell her, but…" he trailed off.

"I understand," Naruto said. Rowan was scared, or ashamed, or worried, or a combination of all three. "Then it's settled: when we arrive at the next island, I'll be calling her for you."

Rowan went wide-eyed at that, looking ready to protest, but Naruto held up a hand to stop him.

"I was an orphan, growing up," he said. "At your age, I would've given anything to spend just a minute with my mom." He stood up, stretching lightly. "This whole thing?" he said, again referencing their new way of life, "we'll work something out. Now go, no arguing, start on your laps."

Rowan was thrown off by the sudden change in direction. "Hey!" he exclaimed. "You can't just brush me off by making me train!"

"Mah," Naruto said, walking away from the irate child. "I just did. You can argue with me once you've finished." He disappeared below deck, intent on visiting his hidden partner to prepare for what they were about to pass through.

Rowan smoldered for a few more minutes, but, knowing there was nothing he could do, decided to begin the 'training' that Naruto had imposed on him a few weeks before.

"At least it's just running, today," he muttered as he made his way to the lower, grassy deck of their ship. Once he arrived, he found his 'special training clothing' folded on one of the benches. He shivered, and, divesting himself of his normal wear, donned the bland, black shirt and pants. Immediately, once both articles were in place, he began to have difficulty simply holding himself upright. He pouted at the uncomfortable feeling.

"Yeah, just running."

* * *

Naruto stared up at the second Gate of Mary Geoise. Gaining passage had been relatively simple, all it had taken was a few transformed Shadow Clones to fake legal cargo, an hour or so to register his ship and 'himself' with the World Government, and he'd been allowed through. There'd been the usual amount of gawking at his ship, but the similarly enormous World Noble's ships also passed through the gate regularly, so it wasn't as much of a spectacle as it would've been elsewhere.

He'd worn his _Henge _the entire time, not wanting the World Government to have an image of his face, but Rowan wasn't capable of such a disguise. It had worked out in the end; the 'crew' of Naruto's ship had barely been looked at, and they'd been allowed through unfettered.

Now, they were waiting for the second Gate to open. The Gates were arranged so that ships passing through could be contained in the case of an emergency, and their crew detained. Not even the strongest of cannons could dent the massive structures. As a crack slowly appeared in between the two huge doors, a glimpse of the clear ocean before them came into view. A swell of water formed in the wake of the moving doors and dragged his colossal ship out to sea. Without a second glance, he ordered his clones to proceed towards the destination inscribed on their new Log Pose, 'Applenine Island', promising himself that one day he would return to the Holy Land.

* * *

From his brief stint on the ancient moving 'island' of Zou, to his longer stay in the beautiful city of Water 7, to his short visits on Saboady Archipelago, Naruto had thought that he had a fairly good grasp on what to expect from the different islands of this new world he'd been brought to. However, looking at Applenine Island with a blank stare, he realized that he likely never would.

The island… was named literally. A day and a half after he'd passed through the Celestial Dragon Gates of Mary Geoise, the island had come into view. Initially, he was only able to distinguish the faint outlines of the showy white mountain range that stretched from end to end. However, as they drew closer, a frustration that hadn't been present before made itself known.

"Why even give it a name?" Naruto asked, turning towards Rowan.

Rowan was startled by the sudden question. "Huh?" he asked intelligently.

Naruto turned back to the source of his frustration. "Why name it Applenine Island?" he asked. "Why not just call it Island with Nine Apples, or something. I mean, look at it."

The main geographic feature of the island was a gargantuan Apple. On its own, it was taller than any of the mountains around it, and its top was covered in snow, the reason that Naruto hadn't noticed its peculiarity from further away. Randomly distributed around the rest of the island were eight more, though not nearly as large, still massive Apples, each dwarfing the city that had been built around them.

"I dunno," said Rowan, mostly ignoring the blond's inane question.

"I just- oh, never mind…" Naruto cut himself off before he could rant any more. It was a stupid topic. The name of the island was none of his business, after all.

His sight zeroed in on the port of the poorly named island, seeing something extremely familiar… and cringe inducing.

He nudged his younger companion, pointing towards the ship. "I guess that's why Shakky sent us," he said.

Moored at the docks was the Luffy-Go, the ship that Bartolomeo the Cannibal had commissioned from Water 7. In all of its disturbing glory. Now that Naruto had personally met a few of them, he could see the attention to detail that had been put in to the craft – for instance, he'd attributed the odd curve of Luffy's arms to the art style, before he'd learned that the boy was actually made from rubber.

It was the only port on the island, so it was an expansive one. The leftmost side of it, near the Luffy-Go, was empty, and large enough to accommodate the vastness of Naruto's ship.

As his clones went about anchoring the ship, Naruto made his way to the side of the ship facing the island, where he could see a small group of people gathered. Chief among them, he noticed was Bartolomeo, his bright green hair sticking out like a sore thumb. He leaned further over the side and waved at the familiar face, taking pleasure in the wide-eyed, surprised look that appeared on the Pirate's face.

His wave was apparently taken as an invitation to board, as not a second later, a set of translucent stairs appeared, and the Pirate Captain ascended them carefully, his First Mate right behind him. As he and Rowan watched the Pirates climb, Naruto gave the boy a sidelong glance.

"Don't forget, Rowan," he said. "I'm making that call, _tonight_."

* * *

Again, sorry for such a short (filler) chapter. I had a super busy week, and was struggling to write (I had to read and revise 16 memoirs, it was a struggle to write normally after that) (I hate reading memoirs, and college student memoirs are usually even worse. Ridiculously angsty, they can never write a happy story, it seems. I've read good, sad, memoirs, but I've also read uplifting ones - someone is teaching these students that the sad kind is all that exists). You probably noticed that influence (Rowan being a real sad boi). Had an exam on Friday, and am (admittedly now late) finishing a different work of non-fiction for another class. Hopefully I can get back to posting more often like before.

Someone mentioned something that was also bugging me: 'Luffy D. Monkey'. I hated typing it, I hated looking at it... but I kept it for consistency's sake. I wasn't calling Naruto 'Uzumaki D. Naruto' because that's not how I thought of him, and I tried to keep that scheme in mind - but, it really is just... awful. I'll go back and edit everyone's names today, and use them 'normally' from here-on-out. Not a massive issue, but still something I thought I should mention.

I'll edit in responses to guests later as well.

Thanks to Helrio Uzugaku for the figurehead idea - I was having a ton of trouble deciding on something, but the idea of the roots of the trees knotting together at the bow is really neat to me. I wish I had a smidge of artistic talent so that I could draw what I imagine it to look like, but you'll have to live with the little descriptions that will come every time they are near the figurehead. It also... well, that's a spoiler, so I'll keep my mouth shut.

I have the name of the ship in mind, but it won't be made official until a certain something happens. It's not a huge deal, but I honestly can not wait to stop cycling through 'ship' and 'vessel' and 'boat'. It gets old, _quick. _

* * *

For those that aren't as well versed in the timeline of Canon One Piece, or this story: Where we are now is about two days after the end of the two-year time skip in One Piece. The Straw Hats have just reunited, and left for Fish-Man Island, the 11th canonical island that they'll visit as a crew. Punk Hazard is next for the Straw Hats, and then Dressrosa.

Applenine Island is one of the islands mentioned that is nearby Dressrosa, I believe that there are three, but I picked Applenine because... How the hell was that not addressed more in the Manga/Anime? That apple is bigger than the mountains! Unless I missed something, it's never spoken of again...

Next chapter will be much more substantial, and a LOT is going to happen. I may end up having to break it up again...


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Update 2/3/2020: I'm currently rewriting a lot of my story. I set out with the intention of making this an action-based FF, but I realized as I got further in that I have little-to-no way of creating any type of meaningful progression! I have a story line, and I have conflict, but I got so caught up in my characters, the plot, and the wide world of One Piece that I forgot to add more of a struggle! So, revision. I have the idea set, and I'm entangled in the process. It's a RIP that the next chapter wont go up so soon, but I plan on posting the revisions all at once, and then adding on. The changes will be from Ch. 4 and up. They wont be plot-altering, but they will impact the characters, especially Naruto, enough that, once the new Ch. is up, I will recommend a re-read.

Thanks for your patience! See you (hopefully) soon!

* * *

First of all, I'd like to thank y'all for making this one of the most followed and favorited Naruto X One Piece crossover fanfiction of 2019. That's neat.

Second, I promise that this will be the last true angsty part for a while. Didn't want to write something super sappy or angsty to begin with, that's not gonna change.

Finally, sorry that this took longer than it was supposed to – I've been busy with school, and whereas I previously used writing this story to procrastinate on my schoolwork, I am now using Pokemon to procrastinate writing. It's bad, I need help. And like I said, I had to cut it in to pieces – I wasn't done with the battle, but I wanted to get something out. What is coming next is such a rollercoaster that it needs to be its own chapter, anyways.

As always, reviews are greatly appreciated, and if you see mistakes lemme know.

* * *

"I knew it was strange that those shipwrights all but threw us out when you showed up, blondie," Bartolomeo said upon reaching the top of his conjured stairs. He dropped onto the deck and reached a hand out to Naruto in greeting.

Naruto clasped the outstretched hand, a friendly grin displayed on his face.

"Sure," he joked sarcastically. "It's _my _fault that they wanted you gone, _Cannibal_."

"Bah, whatever," the Pirate Captain scoffed. "You gonna give us a tour?" He and Gambia were unabashedly checking out everything within their sight. Bartolomeo then noticed Rowan and waved. "Hey, kid."

Naruto looked back at Rowan who seemed to be vibrating in excitement. Noticing that the attention was now on him, he pointedly looked back and forth between Naruto and Bartolomeo.

"Can I-?" He asked, looking to Naruto for permission.

It took the ninja a few moments to realize what the redhead was asking him, but when he remembered who exactly their new guests were, he chuckled lightly, and nodded his head in ascent.

Rowan shot forward to stand only a few feet in front of Bartolomeo, looking up at him in excitement. "We met the Straw Hats!" he blurted out without preamble.

Bartolomeo's jaw dropped. Behind him, Gambia's expression mirrored his.

"You- You," Bartolome stammered. "You did what!?"

Rowan crossed his arms over his chest and took a superior stance, lifting his chin high and doing his best to look down on Bartolomeo despite his diminutive size.

"You heard me," he sniffed. "We helped them escape the Marines on Saboady," he said imperiously, watching the Captain's face shift between jealousy and awe with glee.

"Hey, who the hell's this 'we' that you're talking about?" Naruto asked from the sidelines. He pouted when he was ignored.

"She didn't say-" Bartolomeo cut himself off. "_He_ was there?"

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto interjected, walking forward to place himself in the conversation once more. "He was there, and we helped his crew off the island. This guy," he plopped a hand atop Rowan's head and ruffled his hair, making the boy lose the _regal_ composure he was holding on to, "Was even treated by their Doctor, little Chopper."

After successfully swatting Naruto's hand off of his head, Rowan nodded happily. "He was scary." He grinned, and Naruto looked at him knowingly. He hadn't been subject to Chopper's scrutiny, but he had his own traumatizing experiences with doctors and medics in the past.

Naruto looked to Bartolomeo. "Did you know he was being mentored by Silvers Rayleigh?" he asked.

If possible, the Captain's eyes widened further, and he shook his head in awe. "_The_ Silvers Rayleigh?" Naruto nodded.

"The Dark King?" Another nod.

"Right hand of Gold Roger?"

"Yes, _that _Silvers Rayleigh," Naruto said impatiently, cutting off the green-haired man's dazed ramble.

Bartolomeo shook his head, clearing it, and then adopted a thinking pose.

"Wait a minute," he said. "Isn't that guy, like… eighty?"

Naruto laughed. "Yeh, but the geezer's still pretty badass," he responded, remembering their few interactions. Not many could get the drop on him, and the fact that Rayleigh had done so, easily, had shown how sharp the old man still was. Sixty years of experience and an impressive level of power was nothing to scoff at, after all.

"You didn't tell me that you met that guy, Naruto!" Rowan accused, a whine apparent in his voice.

Innocently, Naruto looked back to his young charge. "Oh, really?" he asked sarcastically. "_I_ didn't tell_ you_ something?"

Rowan shut his mouth immediately and looked suitably chastised.

"Ah," he said, unable to respond to what Naruto was referencing.

"Yeah, 'Ah'," Naruto said.

"To be honest, I forgot," he continued. "He was pretty loony, anyway." He quickly moved on, turning back to Bartolomeo, wanting to discover why he'd been brought here.

"So, I'm guessing that Shakky sent me to help?" he asked. Bartolomeo was clearly startled by the sudden shift in conversation, and Naruto noticed. "I'll give the details later," he promised, "But I think I should know why I'm here."

Recovering quickly, Bartolomeo nodded. "That's on us," he admitted. "Actually, I'm looking for some help."

Naruto held up a hand, signaling for the Pirate Captain to pause.

"C'mon, let's go inside," he said, motioning for the group to follow him.

* * *

Once they were seated within the Observation Bar, conversation began anew. Drink in hand, Bartolomeo continued.

"Some ship you've got here," he said casually. "So how's someone like you afford it?"

Naruto deadpanned at the blunt Captain, but the man looked unrepentant. Collecting himself, Naruto walked back behind the bar, and removed something from one of the cabinets.

"You really don't read the news, do you?" he asked.

"News Coo has trouble finding us," Gambia piped up from his seat next to Bartolomeo.

Naruto cocked an eyebrow. "Why's that?"

"Well, we d-" Bartolomeo's hand slapped over his first mate's mouth.

"It's nothing," he said. "But why does the news matter?"

Naruto shook his head in exasperation. He returned to the group with a few items in hand, spreading them out over the table. One was the article that told the story of 'Demon Fox' Naruto D. Uzumaki and Rayleigh siding with 'Straw Hat' and helping the resurfaced Pirate escape the Marines at the Archipelago, and the second was the speculative article from just over a month prior, of the alleged events that had occurred at Mary Geoise. The last was his own bounty poster, the drawing of him wearing his Anbu mask.

"I'm not really some no-name," he explained, waiting for the Pirate Captain to connect the dots. Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long.

"This is you?" he asked incredulously. He grabbed the poster and held it close to his face, as if to study its validity. "How the hell have I not seen this?

Naruto shrugged. "You said you don't get the mail," he answered. "Iceburg kept it out of circulation when I was at Water 7, and it had only been issued the day before we got there."

"Why'd he do that?" Bartolomeo asked, genuinely confused.

Naruto lifted his arms above him, gesturing all around. "This ship!" he explained. "It was a couple billion Beli!"

Through the Pirate's renewed astonishment, Naruto could see the question forming, and he let one of his hands fall down to rest on the oldest paper.

"I didn't just trash the place, y'know?" he said, explaining his wealth. "I took a few things while I was there."

Rowan snorted. "_A few_," he mocked.

Naruto shrugged, unapologetic. "It's not like they really needed it," he reasoned. "Enough about me!" he snatched the poster out of Bartolomeo's hand and gathered the newspapers, returning to the bar to put them back into the cabinet.

"Hey, I didn't-"

"Nope, too bad," Naruto interrupted Gambia's complaint. The man deflated. "I was ready to start my own adventure, and I got called to this stupid island. What's the deal?"

Bartolomeo downed his drink and donned a serious expression.

"Right," he said. "Do you remember when we first met?" Naruto nodded. "Remember the fruit that I mentioned? The Devil Fruit?"

Naruto thought for a moment before nodding once more. "The Mera-Mera no mi, right? Fire-Fist Ace's?"

"That's it." Bartolomeo confirmed. "I've been looking for it," he explained. "It's actually why I didn't stick around Saboady Archipelago, even though I knew the Straw Hats would be coming back eventually." His face grew slightly red, and he blushed, thinking of his favorite crew on the seas. "I- I really wanted to have something to give to Luffy, for our first meeting, and I think that Fire Fist's Fruit would be the perfect gift."

"That… is actually a good plan," Naruto admitted. "I'm guessing you've found something, if you're asking for my help?"

"That's just it," the Pirate said. "We don't really have anyone else to ask, and Shakky said that you could help out.

"Glad to know she's making choices for me," Naruto said dully. "So what is it?"

Bartolomeo considered his words for a moment before speaking.

"I have a lot of contacts left over from my last job," he started.

"You? You had another job?"

"Oh, shut up," Bartolomeo said, embarrassed. "Anyway, one of my contacts found out that the Shichibukai Doflamingo recently found it – the Fruit."

The Shichibukai… The Government Pirates? Naruto didn't know too much about them, but it was a contradictory occupation if he'd ever heard one.

"So, you want me to steal it from him?" Gambia choked on his drink, and Bartolomeo had to clap him on the back a few times to calm his coughing.

"No!" she exclaimed. "No, it's actually a good thing."

"How is someone else having the Devil Fruit you're looking for a good thing?" Rowan was sitting away from them at the bar, head down, having tuned out the conversation a while ago. It seemed like he was asleep.

"Because he doesn't want it!" the Pirate stated happily. "He's setting it up as the prize for a tournament!"

"And you're just accepting that there's nothing strange about that?"

Bartolomeo laughed. "No shit there's something off about it, but it's the first time anyone's heard of the Fruit in two years! I've got to go after it!"

At that, Naruto relented. Devil Fruits were a rarity in this world – even more so than the Kekkei Genkai holders of his own, as those abilities were shared, while each Devil Fruit was unique.

"So, this tournament,"

"It's not for a few days," Bartolomeo said, cutting Naruto off. "It hasn't been officially announced yet, but it'll happen soon. Me an Gambia are planning to enter, but more people on our side means a better chance of winning." He locked eyes with Naruto.

"Whaddya say?"

* * *

On the outskirts of Dawn Island was a small village with a population totaling just over a hundred people.

It was near midnight in Foosha Village, and there was little commotion to be seen. The only building with its lights on was one of the larger ones in the town, two stories, with a sign that read 'Party's Bar' plastered over the doorway.

Inside, there was a single woman working, cleaning up her bar for the night. The usual crowd, a group of mountain bandits that had become the village's unofficial protectors, had left half an hour earlier.

She had dark green hair, almost indistinguishable from black, and wore a bandana that covered most of it. She was diligently wiping down the tables in the establishment; though she'd grown to appreciate the bandits that had become regulars of hers over the last few years, they were still rowdy folk, and made a mess wherever they went.

As she was moving to the last table, the tone of her Den Den Mushi startled her out of her routine.

'_Puru puru puru puru'_

Confused, she hurriedly put her wet rag onto the tabletop and removed her apron.

'_Puru puru puru puru'_

She walked over, behind the bar, to the Transponder Snail perched on a small shelf on the wall.

'_Puru puru puru puru'_

The caller wasn't someone she recognized. The snail had sprouted a mane of ridiculously yellow, spiky hair, and three lines on either side of its face, suspiciously reminiscent of whiskers.

"Who the hell could be trying to call me so late?" she asked herself, reaching for the dial on the side of the snail.

'_Puru - click'_

"Hello?" she asked

"_Hi_!" a friendly sounding voice responded. As she watched the snail, she noticed that it also had only one eye open, and it was a startling bright blue, something that hadn't been visible before she'd picked up the call. "_Is this Rowan's mom_?"

'_Is this_-' Who the hell was this?

Hesitantly, she responded. "This is she," she said politely.

"_Great! I wasn't sure if I got it right – I've only used this damn snail a few times before._" The voice paused. "_I'm Naruto, a friend of Rowan's."_

'He knows Rowan? Rowan never told me anyone's name_…_'

"You know Rowan? Is he okay?" She asked, worried.

"_He's fine, he's fine,"_ 'Naruto' said, alleviating her immediate concerns. "_Actually, him being fine is sort of the reason that I'm calling you._"

"That's - I don't understand?"

"_Sorry, Miss_…" he trailed off.

"Makino," she filled in for him.

"_Miss Makino, then. Like I said, I'm Naruto Uzumaki – Sorry, Naruto _D_. Uzumaki_." She knew that name… "_And I'm calling to fill you in on some things that I don't think Rowan's able to_."

"Naruto D. Uzumaki… You!" She remembered! "You were just in the papers, you helped Lu- the Straw Hats escape the Marines!" Not only that, but the mysterious masked man had an enormous bounty – larger than even Ace's had been – and he had just appeared a month ago!

"_Yeah, yeah. Rowan already told me all about how he knows the kid_-"

"What's someone like you doing with my Rowan?" she demanded, cutting him off mid-sentence. Rowan wasn't supposed to be off gallivanting with wanted criminals! "He said he was safe!"

"_Give me a minute to talk, will ya_?" Naruto demanded impatiently, quieting her protests. "_I said I was gonna tell you_, _calm down_."

"…fine." Makino ground out. She took deep breaths to steady her heartbeat that had increased rapidly over the short period of their conversation.

"_First of all, Rowan is safer with me than he has been for the last – however long he's been missing. I still don't know everything, really. But that time, it's why I'm talking to you, not Rowan. I don't think he'd be able to tell you_, _he's - uh, he's been avoiding it so far, I guess."_

"Tell me what?" the way he was talking… it was worrying. She didn't know him, but his somber tone of voice was enough to put her on the edge of her seat. Rowan would have told her if something too terrible had happened, wouldn't he?

"_He… agh, this is hard_." The Den Den Mushi's only open eye closed for a moment, mirroring the man on the other end of the transmission. "_You've gotta know that he didn't just… wander off, right_?" he asked.

"I thought he was dead for years," Makino said blankly. She didn't want to remember what that had been like, now that she knew that she had her son back. "It's happened here before – it's not exactly a safe island. And no one could find him, anywhere. I hoped, but…" She sighed, and puffed up again. "And then he called me, two years later, out of nowhere! Sure, he sounds a little different, but I can recognize my own child's voice."

A pause. Neither of them spoke a moment before a sigh could be heard coming from Naruto's end.

"_I guess there's not a good way to say this_," Naruto said, and Makino could hear what sounded like hesitation in his voice. "_You knew my name – you've seen my bounty poster_?" he asked.

Of course she'd seen it. Pretty much the entire world had seen it. His was the highest beginner bounty ever issued, higher than even the terrifying new 'Yonko', Blackbeard's, had been when it was initially issued after the Battle of Marineford two years ago.

She nodded, and then said "Yes," when she remembered that they were communicating over Snail.

"_Well, I got that bounty because I attacked Mary Geoise, and offended a few World Nobles._"

Her eyes shot open. He was the one behind that?! So far, only vague guesses had been made about the destruction wrought at the World Noble's home.

"_While I was there, I freed a few slaves, most of them I sent to a safe place. But… Makino, Rowan was one of the slaves I freed. He's been with me since_."

The words seemed to impact her with physical force. She sucked in a startled breath, and stumbled backwards, putting a hand on the bar behind her to steady herself.

"He- my-" she choked out. "That's not funny," she said finally, weakly. Even she wasn't fooled by her own denial.

"_I'm sorry_," Naruto apologized sincerely. It was then that the hilarity of the situation hit her – a notorious criminal was trying to console her, Makino, a simple bar owner in a simple village. It seemed to be a recurring theme for her. "_I'm sorry that I wasn't able to be there sooner_," he said. "_And I'm sorry that you had to find out from me, of all people_."

"Why did-" her voice broke, and she felt the tears begin to spill down her cheeks. "Why didn't he tell me? Where is he? I want to-" a sob consumed her, and a cough wracked her form. Of course Rowan wouldn't tell her. He'd gotten all of his father's good traits, and was too young yet for any of his vices – there was no way he'd want to do anything to worry her.

"_He didn't want to worry you_," said Naruto, echoing the thoughts reverberating through her head. "_And, he…"_ the snail's eye closed once more. "_According to him, he can't come home."_

"Bullshit," Makino stated firmly, wiping her eyes and standing up straight once more. "Where is he? I want to talk to him," she demanded.

"_He's asleep, Makino,"_ Naruto's voice came through, calm. "_We had an exciting day, and he fell asleep in the Observation Deck. I brought him to his room a few minutes ago, I needed his Snail to make this call."_

"Observation Deck?" she asked, distracted.

"_It's based on your bar, I think. Rowan's the one that planned it_," he said. "_He has his own room here, too._"

Makino shook her head. "I don't care about any of that!" she said earnestly, getting herself back on track. "Why can't he come back?"

"_I'm not clear on that, either. I'm not sure I agree with him. He says that it's because he was a slave to the World Nobles – he has their mark. If anyone were to see it, he'd be hunted down, and everyone near him would be caught up in it as well."_

"No one in this town cares about that!" she shouted angrily. She wasn't even sure who she was angry at. At this Naruto, who had rescued her only child from slavery? At Rowan, for keeping such an awful secret from her?

Or, at herself. For not being there to protect the greatest thing that had ever happened to her when he needed it most. For not looking harder – for not being the one in Naruto's place, rescuing Rowan from his servitude.

The salon-style doors to her bar, the very ones that had been used as inspiration on Naruto's ship, burst open, and a familiar face rushed in wildly.

"Makino! Is everything okay?" asked a short, old, bearded man wearing a red-and-white-striped hat and wielding a wooden cane.

"Mayor!" Makino said, surprised, hurriedly wiping at her reddened eyes once more and stepping in front of the Den Den Mushi as though to hide what had been happening.

Foosha Village's Mayor, Woop Slap, rapidly removed his glasses and looked around the room for a possible aggressor. "Are you alright, Makino?" he asked once more.

"I- I'm fine, Mayor," she managed to say. "One moment."

She turned back to the snail, making the source of her distress obvious to the elderly Mayor. "I've got to go, Naruto. He'll – you'll call again, won't you?"

"_Of course, Makino. He's nervous, not that he'll ever admit it. That doesn't mean that he doesn't want to talk to you,"_ A voice that Mayor Woop slap had never heard came from the Den Den Mushi.

As Makino was reaching forward to end the transmission, the voice spoke up once more.

"_Makino_!" It said urgently "_Before I go – we may be tied up for the next few days. I've got to know, where is your island_?"

She reached forward. "Dawn Island, in the East Blue. You better make sure he calls!" With the press of a button on the Transponder Snail's dial, the call was ended.

Taking a deep breath, she turned around to face her Mayor once more. "What can I do for you?" she asked, smiling. "Bar's closed, you know."

Woop Slap knew that something was off. Despite the tragic loss of two boys that had been very dear to her – her own son, and the infamous Pirate, Fire-Fist Portgas D. Ace, two years ago, she managed to stay strong, at least in view of the villagers, including himself. But something was different now – her smile didn't quite reach her eyes, and through her squint, he could see the signs; the whites of her eyes were reddened, the same as the area around them. She'd clearly been crying, and tried to rub away the evidence.

"Who was that, just now?" he asked. Maybe it was a little nosy, but he'd entered her bar thinking Makino was in some sort of trouble. She hardly ever raised her voice, hearing her yell was enough to get even his old bones moving.

"It was no one," she said evenly, exiting from behind her bar and walking over to the table at the far-end of the room, the one with what looked to be her cleaning supplies set upon it.

"Didn't sound like it," Woop Slap responded.

Instead of finishing the last table, she bundled the apron and rag into her hands and turned away from the Mayor.

"If you don't mind, sir, it's late. I think that I'll be going to bed." She said. It wasn't an angry tone, but it was a final one – Woop Slap was certain that he wouldn't be cracking that shell any time soon, and he knew when to quit.

Replacing the glasses back on his head, he coughed into the hand that wasn't holding his cane. "Of course, Makino. I just wanted to make sure that everything alright. You know, those mountain folk aren't the most trustworthy lot out there." He turned and began making his exit.

"I… thank you, Mayor," she said. "Everything is fine. You don't have to worry about it."

"Alright, Makino. I'm around if you need me."

With a wave and a wish goodnight, Woop Slap exited the bar. Only when he was out of sight did Makino let the wave of exhaustion and desolation she'd been suppressing cascade over her. She collapsed in the booth she'd been standing beside and let her head fall into her hands.

* * *

"Do we really have to?" Bartolomeo's voice called from well below where Naruto was currently standing at the railing of his ship.

Naruto stuck up his middle finger and turned away, relocating to the Observation Deck to prepare for their journey.

Below, an interesting spectacle was occurring. The Luffy-Go and all of its crew was drifting alongside Naruto's anchored ship. The night had passed, and the morning light was all that was illuminating their current task – one that neither group was particularly enjoying.

A gaping hole could be seen in the side of his ship, directly alongside the Luffy-Go. Chains connected from the inside of it to the Straw-Hat-themed ship, and they were slowly reeling the boat in, drawing the smaller vessel inside.

It was a feature that was somewhat common in many ships – storing a smaller, more maneuverable ship somewhere on board. This, however, was just on a much larger scale, and because of that, the process was much more arduous.

* * *

"And where have you been, huh?" Bartolomeo demanded an hour later, bursting in through the doors of the bar. "Some help woulda been nice! I kept getting lost!"

Naruto stared at him. The whole debacle had stemmed from one enlightening conversation, something that had explained so many questions that Naruto had about the crew.

""How long have you been sailing, man? I've been preparing the ship to leave," he said, frustration seeping into his voice.

"Over a year," Bartolomeo declared, puffing up proudly.

"Then why the hell do you not know how to navigate!?" Naruto exploded, shouting at the, now embarrassed, Pirate Captain.

Bartolomeo held up a finger in protest. "Hey, it's not that easy!" he tried to reason.

Naruto shook his head in disappointment. "The hell it's not," he said. "I learned how to on Water 7. Honestly, I was able to get by on my own before that, and I'd only been travelling for a few days!"

It was no wonder the News Coo couldn't find them – they drifted aimlessly between islands, only having a set destination when they acquired a new Eternal Log Pose! The News Coo wouldn't be able to find them if they weren't on the usual paths. And, the time that Naruto had hitched a ride with them to Water 7, he'd been so confused by everything happening on deck. At least he knew why, now. The crew had no idea what they were doing, either!

"Forget it," Naruto said when he saw Bartolomeo about to argue again. "It's only until Dressrosa. I'm not gonna start carrying you around, so you'll just have to try to learn on the way."

"Not like I was gonna ask you to," the notorious Supernova grumbled.

Naruto began walking away. "Good," he called over his shoulder. "Now get your ass over here."

He walked out from behind the bar and approached the table in the center of the room containing his collection of Log Poses. A quick glance out of one of the windows showed the land of Applenine island getting further and further away.

While he was waiting for Bartolomeo to show up, the sails had been lowered and they were pulling away from the port. Rowan was manning the wheel, getting practice while they were sailing at a relaxed pace, and there were a few disguised Naruto clones either maintaining the ship or simply milling about, mingling with the members of the Barto Club. Naruto wasn't adverse to the idea of a few of his acquaintances knowing about some of his abilities, but he drew the line at an entire crew full of pirates he'd never spoken to.

He faced Bartolomeo and laid both of his hands on the table, eying the incompetent captain before him. He grabbed the larger, standard Log Pose from the center and held it up.

"You know how to use this, right?" he asked. "Even just the basics?"

Bartolomeo met his gaze head-on, and grabbed one of the Eternal Log Poses.

"All we've ever had to use are these," he said, twirling the device in his fingers. "They're better, anyway."

Naruto's face met his open palm. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

The morning passed smoothly, without any hitches. Rowan had done a fantastic job at the wheel, and the Barto Club, after a widespread crash-course in the workings of the new ship, was able to help almost as efficiently as Naruto's clones.

The first hurdle occurred during lunch time. It was then that Naruto learned yet another disturbing fact: the Barto Club didn't have a cook among them. Granted, Naruto didn't, either, but he only had to make food for Rowan. that is, if Rowan didn't prepare his own meal, which he usually did. Naruto only ever ate when he felt like socializing, or when a craving hit him.

So, cooking for over thirty extra, hard-working Pirates? Something that should have been planned for, but wasn't. Shortage of food wasn't an issue, there was plenty to go around between the Luffy-Go and Naruto's stores. The task of actually preparing the food, on the other hand, Naruto made sure to delegate to Rowan, the only one other than himself whose cooking skills he had confidence in. He complained at first, but when Naruto explained himself, he agreed that he was probably best for the job.

Other than that, the entire first day went well. Rowan and Naruto got along amicably with the various Barto Club crew members, who they learned were an assortment of Straw Hat fans and Bartolomeo fans; some had joined out of reverence for the Straw Hats, and some had been around since Bartolomeo's previous job. Later that night when Naruto had, mostly out of selfishness, finally relieved the other crew of their duties, he was finally alone on the deck.

Alone with his clones, that is. 'They' had elected to take the night shift, and the Barto Club had been happy to oblige, retreating to either the luxurious rooms available in Naruto's ship, or their own quarters back on the Luffy-Go, held in the lowest level of his ship.

It was at this time that something drew Naruto's attention. His gaze was pulled off of the course that they were sailing on, a few kilometers to the East, where something was out of place.

He did a double take, making sure that he wasn't hallucinating, navigating the Grand Line so late at night, before forming a clone to man the wheel and hurrying to the main mast to make his ascent to the Crow's Nest.

It was something that wasn't supposed to be there. There were no signs on his Log Pose, nothing to indicate the chaotic magnetic pull of another nearby New World Island. The only islands that were within less than two days journey were Applenine and Dressrosa, one they had left that morning, and one they were sailing to now. It was an anomaly.

After a moment of studying the far-away landmass, Naruto uncovered the large handheld telescope that was stored in a cabinet on the wall. So far, there hadn't been any reason for him to use it, the only one that had touched it was Rowan, who he'd seen playing with it during their journeys.

Sliding it out to its full length, he pointed it in the direction of the mystery island. He lifted it to his face, holding it up to his good eye, and peered through the device, staring intently for a few seconds at the impossibility before him.

His jaw dropped.

* * *

"**What the hell is so important that you had to wake me up**?" a grumpy Kurama growled.

Naruto, excited, surged forward to give the telescope to the fox before realizing how useless such a miniscule object would be to the Bijuu. He let the hand holding it fall to his side, and pointed with his other, instead.

"Look over there, Kurama!" he said in excitement, a wide grin plastered across his whiskered face. "Iceburg wasn't kidding!"

It wasn't a landform that he'd seen, it was something much more unbelievable. A ship, the size of a small island, was slowly floating through the ocean. For the magnificence of its existence, it was dreary in color. A solid wooden wall made up the exterior of the circular behemoth, a mouth painted over the entrance of the ship whose size put even his to shame. The central sail had an indiscernible Jolly Roger painted on it, and the outer sails had large, grey text written upon them.

"**Thriller… Bark**?"

* * *

Sorry, y'all, but this chapter is a lil choppy. Hopefully i smoothed it out well, I wrote it off-and-on over a week and half so I may have left some errors in.

Next chapter is well under way, and.. Well, a lot is going to happen.


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